SO and I are thinking about going to one when we get out tax returns. He has scoliosis and used to go a lot as a kid. Now since I'm pregnant, my sciatic nerve is killing me. I also have a bad hip. My doctors aren't sure if it's something with my joint or what. They said it wasn't broken or fractured becuase the x rays look normal. I can barely walk at this point. I'm willing to try anything. If you've gone, what was your experience? Did it help? If it did, how long did you feel good for?
Love my chiropractor - nothing else helped with my neck problems, including a top orthopedic doc that I went to.
I went 3X per week for about a month (was in bad pain), and then cut down to once per week for about 6 months. I haven't gone in a month or two and I'm still doing fine.
I would seek out someone who has experience with pregnancy.
Chiropractors are a weekly, bi-weekly, monthly appointment - not just a one-time trip. You need to ensure that you are going to a chiropractor that knows how to adjust a pregnant W.'s body and has experience with pregnant women. Take the xray of your hip with you so he/she will not have to do another one.
There are chiropractors that have diagnosis machines that do not require xrays and use, what look like, pens on your back. Talk to the chiropractor before you let him/her adjust you. Look at their qualifications and years of experience. Where they got their degree, etc.
To relieve pain in your sciatic nerve? A chiropractor CAN help. I would also suggest going to a pool - it helps take the weight off your hips as you float in the water.
Another thing that will help? Yoga. It will stretch the ligaments and muscles along your hip and femur bone and alleviate much of your pain. This you can do throughout your whole pregnancy.
I have been going to the chiropractor for about 20 years. I have scoliosis and suffered a great deal of lower back/tailbone/hip pain during pregnancy. I find it helps. I usually need to make two or three visits, then I am feeling good for a month or two before I need another adjustment. I also find massage helps (especially a nice prenatal massage). Physiotherapy is the least helpful for me.
I don't know anything about chiropractors.
As far as pregnancy and hip/back pain go - find a pool and go swimming.
When I was pregnant I was super buoyant.
If I tried to swim under water I'd pop right up to the surface.
But just floating on my back or standing in chest depth water felt SO GOOD - I almost never wanted to leave the pool!
And the good feeling lasted for awhile after getting out of the pool.
Hi I.,
You NEED to be in chiropractic if you are pregnant. Your bones are moving as your womb is growing. Your spine HAS to be adjusted in order for your neurological system to work best...that's good for you and the baby.
If you choose chiropractic, you should have a chiropractor experienced with pregnancy, and you should be prepared for a number of visits. Hopefully you can find one who sort of limits the visits, in the sense of suggesting that, if 5-6 visits doesn't take care of the problem, he/she needs to do something different. You don't want to expect a miracle in 1 visit, but you don't want someone saying it's so open-ended that you'll be going for a year!
You also might want to check into chiropractic techniques - they vary by practitioner. Personally, I was not interested in someone who was going to do a lot of cracking and sudden snapping of any part of my body! Applied kinesiology and similar techniques are, in the minds of many, much safer.
Also see if you can take your X-ray with you so you don't' need additional exposure to radiation, particularly because you are pregnant but I'd say that for anyone. You have paid for that X-ray, so technically you own it, and your primary care physician should make arrangements to release it to you with signed release papers. If it can be sent digitally, so much the better.
Sciatica can be tricky - I had it for many years and it was awful. There are some exercises that can help but I did not get much relief that way. The chiropractor I saw did help me, but not all that much. I still had sudden shooting pains that would stop me short, and I was worried about falling and driving.
I got limited results from chiropractic, even from someone who seemed committed to my care. He also gave me a lot of expensive supplements to help this as well as overall immunity. I thought I was doing the right thing for my body, but looking back I can't say there were measurable results.
I got all my results from cellular nutrition where the food scientists do all the work and where clinical studies are involved. I stopped using products from companies that didn't manufacture their own products and just farmed it out to other countries where there are even fewer regulations than in the US. I've gone to conferences and seminars, and I've talked with many people who had great results from a whole variety of similar ailments. I learned about nutrient absorption (vs. what you actually swallow but don't absorb), and I now understand why the things I did for 15 years didn't make the difference that I see now. I've had NO sciatic flare-ups for over 5 years now, so I know that this works.
There is tremendous work on cell repair and anti-inflammation - I just went to a seminar last week with a chief scientist in this field, and I'm struck by the clinical data they use to ensure safety and effectiveness. That's an added benefit that wasn't even available to me when I started, but I'm certainly employing it now. I also like that this approach is save for pregnant/nursing women and children and is used world-wide in feeding centers and clinics.
My chiropractor that I love doesn't treat me like so many others do, not even like he does all his other patients. He has worked on me several times when I've injured myself. I got well from seeing him.
He massaged me, used ultra sound and a gel, stretched me out and a 2 piece table where he would move it and massage the tight muscles.
Then he laid me on my back and would take my head and pull it. Simply pull it quickly like 1/4 of an inch. My back would be so relaxed every joint would line up all at the same time. Everything would be perfect.
The deep massage relaxed my muscles. They would be tight like a piano string but when he was done I could actually move.
When he pulled my head and lined everything up I got up feeling perfect. I had very little pain and with a few treatments like this I was out of care and fixed.
I have lumbar scoliosis (lower back). This means my sciatic nerve hurts a LOT. Some days I can't walk. Yoga helps me a ton. If I do it everyday I generally don't feel any pain. I've heard great things about chiropractors. You could also try a massage therapist.
I recommend it, BUT make sure you go to one with a lot of experience treating pregnant women. I actually first started going when I was pregnant with my second and it helped a lot. I now go once a month just to keep everything aligned. Your insurance may cover it, so look into that as well.
Walking every day does wonders for pregnancy pains, even the kinds that make walking difficult.
I'm of the opinion that chiropractors aren't doctors, and that on e you go, you always have to go. Seems kind of like they don't fix anything :-)
I have had amazingly good experiences with a chiropractor. I have scoliosis too, and get these occasional, excruciatingly painful, neck/shoulder spasms. Mine adjusts me and resolves the problem, and I'm good for the next year or so. Nothing else in the wide world helps with this problem, so I swear by it.
The thing is, there's an insane amount of variation, from chiropractor to chiropractor. They range from fantastic to should-never-work-with-people-at-all. So part of the process of considering chiropractry (is that a word?) is shopping around.
