Ask a room of Colorado moms what surprised them most about pregnancy and someone will say the back pain. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists calls backache one of the most common pregnancy problems, especially in the later months, and notes that for many women it lingers for months after the baby arrives. The good news is that most of what helps is low-tech and free, and the rest is a matter of knowing who to ask. Here is what ACOG recommends, when a backache is something to call about, and what a prenatal visit at a Littleton chiropractic office actually involves if you decide to add one.
Why your back hurts now when it never did before
ACOG’s explanation is mechanical. As the uterus expands it shifts your center of gravity forward and stretches and weakens the abdominal muscles that normally help hold your spine upright. At the same time, the extra weight you are carrying means more work for your back muscles and more stress on your joints. Put those together and the lower back ends up doing a job it was never built to do alone, which is why the ache tends to show up in the second and third trimesters and gets worse at the end of a long day on your feet.
What ACOG says actually helps
ACOG’s advice is practical, and most of it costs nothing. Keep moving: the college says back exercises help ease pain and promote good posture, that walking is great for the back, and that water exercise helps because the water supports your weight. The one rule is that exercise should not hurt; if it does, stop. Watch how you sit, sleep and lift. Squat down, bend your knees and keep your back straight to pick something up, and later in pregnancy sleep on your side. Shoes matter more than you would think: ACOG recommends low-heeled shoes with good arch support, not flat shoes and not high heels. A heating pad set to its lowest temperature, or a cold compress, can take the edge off, used for limited stretches of time. And an abdominal support garment, a lumbar support for your chair or maternity pants with a belly band can take some of the weight of your belly off your back muscles.
When back pain is a call to your OB, not a stretch
This is the part worth memorizing. ACOG says to contact your ob-gyn or obstetric care provider if back pain is severe or lasts more than two weeks, because back pain can be a sign of preterm labor or a urinary tract infection. Call right away if the pain comes with a fever, burning when you urinate or vaginal bleeding. Everything else in this article assumes your provider knows about the pain and has ruled those out first.
Where prenatal chiropractic care fits
ACOG’s back pain guidance does not mention chiropractic care, massage or acupuncture one way or the other, so this is a conversation to have with your own provider. If you do look into it, it helps to know what a prenatal chiropractic practice says it does and does not do. Raise Chiropractic’s prenatal and family care page in Littleton lists prenatal chiropractic, postpartum care, soft tissue therapy, cupping and instrument-assisted soft tissue work, dry needling and pelvic and pregnancy support. The practice names the Webster Technique as its main prenatal approach and describes it as focusing on pelvic balance, sacral function and the surrounding soft tissues, with Dr. Aubree Petty, DC, listed as a Webster Technique certified chiropractor. The discomforts the page says it works with will sound familiar to anyone in a third trimester: lower back, hip and pelvic tension, sciatic-type pain, neck and shoulder tightness, pubic bone discomfort and round ligament tension.
Two lines on that page are worth reading closely, because they are the kind of honesty you want from any provider. Raise states that the Webster Technique is not a baby-turning procedure and does not guarantee a change in fetal position, and that chiropractic care is not a substitute for obstetric or emergency medical care. Questions about birth planning, the page says, belong with your obstetric or maternity provider. That matches the order of operations ACOG lays out: your OB first, then supportive care if you and your OB agree it makes sense.
Questions to ask before you book
Whoever you see, a few questions sort out a careful prenatal practice from a casual one. Ask what training the chiropractor has in prenatal care specifically, and whether they will adjust their table and technique for your trimester. Ask how they will coordinate with your OB or midwife and what symptoms would make them send you back to that provider the same day. Ask what a first visit includes and how many visits they expect to recommend, so you are not surprised by a long plan. And ask what you can do at home between visits, since ACOG’s list above is the foundation any good provider should be building on, not replacing.
How to check a Colorado chiropractor’s license
Chiropractors in every state earn a Doctor of Chiropractic degree, pass the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners exam and hold a state license, according to the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, and some complete postgraduate training in areas such as pediatrics. In Colorado, the Department of Regulatory Agencies licenses chiropractors and requires at least 30 hours of continuing education every two-year license period. You can confirm any Colorado provider’s license status and see any discipline on record in about a minute through DORA’s license lookup. It is a reasonable step before any first appointment, pregnant or not.
For more on how Raise approaches recovery and movement in the south metro, see our Local Business Spotlight on Raise Chiropractic, and for related reading, why heels hurt first thing in the morning and how to tell a kid’s sprain from something worse.
Disclosure: Raise Chiropractic is a Holland Health Marketing client.
Sources
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Back Pain During Pregnancy (last reviewed December 2021)
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, Chiropractic: In Depth
- Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies, Board of Chiropractic Examiners
- Raise Chiropractic, Prenatal and Family Care
More like this: Learn: Health · Learn · Littleton · Raise Chiropractic
This is general information, not medical advice.
