Prenatal Chiropractic in Tucson AZ
During pregnancy a woman’s body changes constantly to make room for a growing baby. As the baby grows, her center of gravity shifts forward into the pelvis, which adds stress and discomfort to the lower back and to the joints of the pelvis. At the peak of pregnancy, with the associated weight gain, the curve in the lower back — the lordotic curve — can increase enough to place a serious load on the vertebral joints, the sacrum and the hips.
The nerves that serve the rest of the body originate in the spine. When the spine is compressed, those nerves can become irritated and send pain out into other areas. Sciatica is a common example during pregnancy: pain that travels from the lower back down through the leg.
If there was already a problem with spinal alignment, or a history of lower back trouble, pregnancy tends to aggravate it. The spine can be left misaligned in a way that does not simply resolve once the pregnancy ends — which makes carrying a baby, breastfeeding and bending to pick things up painfully difficult right when those things become daily work.