While the topic of chiropractic care for infants has been the topic of some debate historically, and even more so in the last few years, we are now beginning to understand a little more how chiropractic care might support infants when it comes to breastfeeding, head asymmetry, colic and unsettledness. Emerging research indicates that chiropractic care may potentially impact infant and paediatric neurodevelopment. But when is the best time to start chiropractic care for your infant?
While case report data indicates multiple benefits for individual cases of chiropractic care during gestation, there is more research that might indicate that the “right time” could be before the baby arrives.
We know that pregnancy is a very exciting time for a woman and her family, but it also brings significant physical challenges. The role of chiropractors in caring for expectant mothers is increasing as more and more women turn to alternative health options during pregnancy. Providing care to pregnant women is both a responsibility and a privilege for chiropractors, who can offer crucial support during this transformative and challenging period.
As exciting as pregnancy is, we also know it can be somewhat stressful. This adds an extra layer of complexity as high or severe levels of stress during pregnancy have been linked to adverse health outcomes such as high blood pressure for the mother, or preterm labor and low birth weight for the infant. We are beginning to see more data on how chiropractic care can support autonomic function, which governs hormone production, heart rate, blood pressure, inflammatory response and much more. Therefore it stands to reason that supporting the mother and her nervous system is vital throughout pregnancy.
While the full benefit of chiropractic care during pregnancy is a rabbit hole we could stay down for a long, long time, let’s talk about four pieces of research that explore the significant potential benefits of chiropractic care for pregnant women.
Pelvic Girdle Dysfunction
Pregnancy-related low back and pelvic girdle pain is common, affecting up to 86% of pregnant women. In Australia, 19.5% of pregnant women seek chiropractic care for this pain, but their experiences are not well-documented. (1) With the pelvis bearing the weight of the growing child, and being a vital part of childbirth, supporting it in the lead up to baby’s arrival matters a lot!
In one particular case (2) published by the Journal of Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health Chiropractic, a woman at 26.4 weeks gestation presented with severe pelvic pain and crepitus localised to the pubic symphysis. A medical consultation diagnosed the patient with symphysis pubis dysfunction (SPD). She experienced tenderness in her pubic region, sacroiliac joint, and lower back, with hypertonicity in the lumbar paraspinal muscles. Orthopedic and neurological tests were normal, but vertebral subluxations were found at the sacral apex, pubic bone, C2, and C7. The Webster Technique and various other chiropractic methods were used, and after one visit, her SPD symptoms did not return for the rest of her pregnancy.
This is a quick turnaround indeed. While not every expectant mother will have her symptoms resolve after one visit, there are other cases like this one in which SPD resolved concomitant with chiropractic care.
Another chiropractic study was incredibly enlightening when it came to pelvic floor function. For context, the pelvic floor muscles (the Levator Ani muscle complex) are known to have active roles in pregnancy and childbirth, as well as in spinal stabilisation. When the pelvic floor muscles are damaged or stressed over time, health issues like incontinence and vaginal prolapses can crop up. We know these are problems with massive emotional, physical, social and financial costs across the world and a significant cause of stress for these women.
For a woman in labour, the ability to relax pelvic floor muscles (as well as contract them) to allow the baby to move through the birth canal is incredibly important, especially as the baby crowns.
The study in question showed some fascinating results.
- The study demonstrated that adjusting the pregnant women appears to relax the pelvic floor muscles at rest. As there were no changes seen when they adjusted the non-pregnant comparison group, this finding in the pregnant women appears to be an effect unique to pregnancy.
- This relaxation of the pelvic floor muscles seen after they were adjusted may mean that chiropractic care could be of benefit to pregnant women, as it may help them have a natural vaginal delivery.
- A secondary interesting finding of this study was that the non-pregnant chiropractic students in the comparison study were able to contract their pelvic floor muscles to a degree previously seen only in elite athletes. We don’t yet know exactly why, but a possible explanation for this is that they were chiropractic students who regularly got checked and adjusted, and this may have been why they had such amazing control over their pelvic floor muscles. It’s also possible this would have a preventative effect against future pelvic floor dysfunction such as stress urinary incontinence! However, the researchers say this needs to be followed up with future studies.
While this line of research is promising, and we are sure more will emerge along this line of investigation over time, chiropractors often recommend exercises to support expectant mothers. This, too, has been supported by research.
In a randomised controlled study published by the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, researchers evaluated the impact of adding core stability exercises to usual prenatal care for pregnant women with lumbar and pelvic girdle pain. Thirty-five participants were divided into a control group receiving usual care and an exercise group performing core stability exercises for 10 weeks. Assessments using the visual analog scale, Oswestry Disability Index, and WHOQOL-BREF showed significant improvements in the exercise group for pain relief, disability reduction, and quality of life, except in the Environment categories of the WHOQOL-BREF. This suggests core stability exercises enhance usual care for pregnant women with LPG pain. (3)
For now, we know that case report data has shown positive patient responses to chiropractic treatment for managing pregnancy-related pain. They are incredibly encouraging and may help guide antenatal health providers and the chiropractic profession in understanding a pregnant woman’s experiences with chiropractic care and direct future research.
As always, more research is welcome to confirm and expand our knowledge on this topic. But for now, its clear that pregnancy is a time that requires the best care.
We believe, and research is beginning to confirm, that includes a chiropractor.
References:
- https://spinalresearch.com.au/plagiocephaly-cervical-range-of-movement-primitive-reflexes-in-an-infant-under-chiropractic-care/
- https://spinalresearch.com.au/case-report-reveals-improvements-in-developmental-delay-following-chiropractic-care/
- https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/preconceptioncare/conditioninfo/stress#:~:text=Too%20much%20stress%20can%20cause,low%2Dbirth%2Dweight%20infant.
- Bernard-Giglio, M., French, S., Myburgh, C., de Luca, K. (2023) Chiropr & Manual Ther. https://chiromt.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12998-023-00516-x
- Schwab, BD., Van Blaricum, C., Alcantara, J, PhDc. (2023) Journal of Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health, Chiropractic (Pages 21-26) https://vertebralsubluxationresearch.com/2022/11/28/resolution-of-symphysis-pubis-pain-dysfunction-in-a-pregnant-patient-following-chiropractic
- Mamipour H, Farazmehr S, Negahban H, Nazary-Moghadam S, Dehghan-Manshadi F, Navi Nezhad M, Jafari S, Sharifzadeh M. (2023) J Manipulative Physiol Ther. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37422748/
