“Somewhere on this globe, every ten seconds, there is a woman giving birth to a child. She must be found and stopped.” – Sam Levenson

More and more people are finding they can get relief from pains in their body like: headaches; whiplash; back pain; and sports injuries, by seeing a Doctor of Chiropractic (DC), but what about pregnancy pain? Yes!

Pregnancy is no different than an elite athlete training and stressing their skeletal system, as well as their muscles, tendons and ligaments. After conception a lot of changes occur over the next nine months, which can cause pain for the expecting mother. Many women have discovered the benefits of chiropractic for not only these aches and pains but also for an easier pregnancy.

(What is Chiropractic?) – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCQLNAsuPV8&NR=1&feature=endscreen

One of the common problems associated with pregnancy is Sciatica. When the slightest pressure disrupts the sciatic nerve traveling down both legs it can cause: an increase or decrease in information relayed to your body; causing shooting pain; an area of numbness or muscle weakness.

In an effort to reduce the pressure on the nerves, a person will lean away from the side of pain, known as antalgia, when the cause of pain originates in the back.

Piriformis Syndrome is another possible cause of Sciatica. This muscle is located in the buttock roughly behind your back pocket. If this muscle becomes enlarged, tight or inflamed, it can irritate the nerve.

From my experience and understanding of the human body’s biomechanics, I feel that indirect or direct pressure on nerves from inside the womb, where the baby is sprawled out like Spiderman climbing a wall, is not the only reason this occurs.

As women reach later trimesters they gain weight. Sometimes it is a little and sometimes a lot. As the inner thigh becomes thicker women lose their ability for their normal walking pattern and swing of their legs, because one thigh touches the other thigh. They are forced to externally rotate their legs and swing them outward when walking to make an adjustment for this change. This is affectionately referred to as waddling.

This motion can contract the piriformis muscle and irritate it or make it bigger. When this happens there is a good chance the sciatic nerve can be pinched. Manipulation and stretching are really helpful for this.

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