Chiropractic care facilitates a more comfortable transition from early to late term pregnancy and through to postpartum recovery. No one has said that pregnant women should silently endure the aches and pains of pregnancy. The good news is that pregnant women do not have to suffer these pains that result from a changing body posture.
The pelvic area is of great concern to Chiropractors. The pelvis is essentially a ring made up of four bones: the sacrum, which is the triangular bone at the base of your spine, the tail bone that is attached to your sacrum, and the two hipbones of your pelvis. These four bones are held together by many ligaments and connective tissue. Relaxin, the hormone of pregnancy, is released in the body from early on in the pregnancy to soften these ligaments to allow better passage of the baby during labor and birth. What can happen later on in the pregnancy is that the ligaments stretch quite a bit, to the point of over stretching. The sacroiliac joints (where the sacrum meets the pelvis) can become quite movable and walking can become a challenge. The "pregnant waddle" can be noticeable as a woman walks because, at this point, the sacroiliac joints move too much and the body locks the sacrum into place by causing the woman’s feet to turn out and for her to lock her knees. With a Chiropractic adjustment, the sacroiliac joints are able to move in a more normal position and the woman is able to walk more easily.
