This article is one of a series covering back pain — causes, symptoms, and the treatments we use at Back and Body Medical in Midtown Manhattan. For the complete overview, see the full guide:
→ Back Pain Treatment in New York City — The Complete Guide
In today’s article, we will be discussing how almost 80 percent or pregnant women suffer from low back pain. Anesthesia: Essays & Research says that 1 out of 3 pregnant women lost sleep and twice as many reduced their physical activity because of low back pain. We do have some good news for you. 75 percent of pregnant women who visit the chiropractor report significant pain reduction!
This article will provide you with four tools which are proven to help reduce pregnancy related low back pain.
Manipulation:
As we said above, 75 percent of pregnant women who underwent chiropractic manipulation during their pregnancy reported feeling less pain and had improvements in disability. 4 in 5 of these women reported reduced pregnancy symptoms including but not limited to: heartburn, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, headaches, insomnia, and neck pain. About 40 percent of women who experience pregnancy related low back pain unfortunately continue to have low back pain after the pregnancy for six months to three year. Spinal manipulation can absolutely help with this, especially if started during the term.
Exercise:
In general, women should be getting about 150 minutes of exercise per week. Pregnant women are not recommended to be getting this vigorous exercise. Therapeutic exercises like pelvic tilts, knee to chest stretches, and hamstring stretches are a much better git, and can help low back pain!
Modalities:
Most forms of estim are recommended to be avoided during pregnancy, but we advise you to read this excerpt “Clinicians may, however, consider the use of a sensory-level TENS unit to sites remote from the uterus and abdomen. TENS has been shown to be safe and beneficial for the treatment of lower back pain during pregnancy with no reported adverse effects on the newborn. (19-24).” Heat and ice to specific areas of the body are also safe and recommended to treat low back pain.
Education:
Education is probably the most important tool, believe it or not! Making sure that you are informed on all of these matters will really help you in the long run. You will be much more satisfied with your outcomes knowing all this information.
If you have any questions on our treatment options in New York, please contact us, we would be happy to help you and see what we can do for you.
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Dr Shan Sivendra MD is the founder and medical director of Back and Body Medical in Midtown Manhattan. A board-certified medical doctor, certified acupuncturist, and Director of House Physicians at St. Barnabas Medical Center, Dr Sivendra has been practicing in New York since 1995.
He completed his residency in Internal Medicine at Saint Barnabas Medical Center (affiliated with Mount Sinai School of Medicine) and received the Resident Research Award for three consecutive years.
Dr Sivendra has a background spanning internal medicine, pain management, and conservative spine rehabilitation, and was licensed in both the US and the UK.
At Back and Body Medical, he leads a multidisciplinary team of chiropractors, physical therapists, and acupuncturists dedicated to helping patients recover from pain without surgery or unnecessary medication.
Further Reading: Back Pain