Prenatal chiropractic treatment in Chicago’s South Loop

Pregnancy changes how your body carries weight, and it does so quickly. As the baby grows, your center of gravity moves forward, your low back curve deepens, and the ligaments around your pelvis loosen under the hormone relaxin so the body can prepare for birth. Those changes are normal, but they put steady new load on the joints of the spine and pelvis. For many expecting mothers that shows up as low back pain, pelvic or hip pain, mid-back tension between the shoulder blades, or sciatica-like pain running into one leg.

Prenatal chiropractic care is chiropractic care adapted for pregnancy. The goal is the same as for any patient we see: find the joints in the spine and pelvis that have stopped moving well or shifted out of alignment, restore motion to them, and help the muscles around them do their job. What changes is how we do it. Positioning, the table set-up, and the techniques we choose are all adapted to your trimester and your comfort.

At Advanced Health Chiropractic in the South Loop, prenatal and postpartum patients are a regular part of the practice. Our doctors are trained in the Webster technique, a chiropractic method developed specifically for assessing and adjusting the pelvis during pregnancy, and we care for patients through the first, second, and third trimesters and after delivery.

Expecting and new mothers most often come to us with:

• Low back pain that builds through the day or worsens as the pregnancy progresses
• Pelvic pain, pubic bone pain, or pain at the sacroiliac joints where the pelvis meets the spine
• Hip pain, or pain that makes rolling over in bed or getting out of a car difficult
• Sciatica-like pain, numbness, or tingling running from the buttock down one leg
• Mid-back and rib tension, often between the shoulder blades, as posture shifts forward
• Neck pain and headaches from changed sleeping positions and the forward pull of pregnancy posture
• Postpartum back, pelvic, or neck pain from delivery, feeding positions, and carrying a newborn

Some pregnancy symptoms need your OB or midwife first, not a chiropractor. Vaginal bleeding, leaking fluid, severe or sudden abdominal pain, a bad headache with vision changes, or a fever should be reported to your prenatal provider right away.

Many expecting mothers are told that back and pelvic pain is simply part of pregnancy and that it will pass once the baby arrives. Sometimes it does. Often it does not, and the months in between are spent sleeping poorly, sitting through the workday in pain, and avoiding the walks and exercise that would otherwise help.

The usual options are limited. Many pain medications are not an option during pregnancy, and your OB or midwife is the right person to advise you on that. Never stop or change a prescribed medication without talking to your prescribing physician. General advice to rest or use a pregnancy pillow does not address the joint that has stopped moving properly or the pelvis that has shifted under the changing load. In our experience, pain with a mechanical cause tends to keep returning until the mechanics are looked at.

After delivery, the same problem repeats in a new form. Long feeding sessions, carrying a car seat, lifting a growing baby, and recovering from labor all load a spine and pelvis that are still returning to their pre-pregnancy state. Postpartum pain is frequently written off as inevitable when a structural assessment could point to what is driving it.

Every prenatal patient at Advanced Health Chiropractic starts with a new patient exam. We take a detailed history, including your due date, any complications, and what your OB or midwife has advised, then perform a postural, orthopedic, and functional assessment of the spine and pelvis. We do not take X-rays during pregnancy. If imaging would be needed to complete the picture, we discuss it with you and, where appropriate, with your prenatal provider, and we work from the examination findings in the meantime.

Care is delivered by our doctors of chiropractic and adapted to your trimester. In the first trimester, care often looks much like it would for any other patient. As the pregnancy progresses we use a pregnancy pillow and adjust how you are positioned on the table so we keep pressure off your abdomen. In the third trimester we choose the techniques that fit how far along you are. Some patients continue with gentle manual adjustments, and others prefer an instrument-assisted or drop-table adjustment. Your comfort and your case decide the technique.

Our doctors are trained in the Webster technique, a specific chiropractic assessment and adjustment of the pelvis and the ligaments and muscles that attach to it, intended to support pelvic alignment and function during pregnancy. Alongside the adjustment, your plan may include physical therapy focused on posterior chain strength, core and pelvic floor control, and diaphragmatic breathing, all chosen to counter the forward pull of pregnancy posture and support your strength and comfort through pregnancy and recovery.

Depending on your findings, your care plan may include: chiropractic adjustment (pregnancy-adapted), the Webster technique, physical therapy and corrective exercises, and postpartum care, which typically starts 30 to 60 days after delivery, once your provider has cleared you to resume activity. Prenatal care is provided by our chiropractors and coordinated with your OB or midwife wherever that is appropriate. It complements your prenatal medical care and never replaces it.

Your first visit is a new patient exam lasting approximately 60 minutes. One of our doctors will review your full health and pregnancy history, examine your posture, spine, pelvis, and movement, and explain what we believe is driving your pain. Let our front desk know you are pregnant when you book so the visit is planned accordingly, including how far along you are. X-rays are normally part of a new patient exam, and we do not take them during pregnancy. The exam itself is unchanged.

Treatment visits are shorter and hands-on. Many expecting mothers tell us that moving, sleeping, and getting through the workday become more comfortable over the course of care, and many choose to continue gentle care through the third trimester. How your body responds depends on your case, how far along you are, and how long the pain has been present. Care plans are reassessed as your pregnancy progresses, and the plan changes with you.

After the baby arrives, typically 30 to 60 days after delivery and once your provider has cleared you, postpartum visits pick up where prenatal care left off. We reassess the spine and pelvis, work on the pain that comes from delivery and from the new demands of feeding and carrying, and help you rebuild the strength that supports your recovery. If you are being treated by your OB, midwife, or a pelvic floor physical therapist, we are glad to coordinate with them.

This is general information, not medical advice. Book an exam for a diagnosis specific to you, and talk to your OB or midwife about any concern during your pregnancy.