John De La Cruz

While pregnancy is often an exciting time for most, it does not come without its fair share of challenges.

Part of these are the aches and pains experienced during pregnancy, with many women getting lower back pain and discomfort.

At the same time, not many women are comfortable with the idea of popping pain pills throughout their pregnancy. In this case, non-medical alternatives are a great option to explore. Chiropractic treatments are one of these.

Are Chiropractic Treatments Safe In Pregnancy?

Chiropractic care is essentially the health maintenance of the spinal column. This does not involve any surgical procedures for oral medications. Instead, it focuses on sorting out spinal misalignments, reducing spinal nerve stress and promoting full-body health.

Chiropractic care is considered safe in pregnancy, with a few exceptions. Luckily, all licensed chiropractors receive training relating to pregnancy and chiropractic care. In addition, there are also chiropractor’s specialized in offering prenatal chiropractic care.

How Chiropractic Care Can Help With Pregnancy

Chiropractic care in pregnancy can deliver some impressive benefits to expectant moms. Some of these include;

1. Pain Management

As many as 50% of pregnant women suffer from lower back pain. This happens for various reasons, including baby weight on the spine and a shifted centre of gravity. Whatever the cause, lower back pain can get extremely uncomfortable and even make it difficult for an expectant woman to sleep or go about routine activities.

Aside from lower back pain, pregnant women will often experience sciatica. This is pain that runs down the side of one leg from the buttocks down to the ankle.

Chiropractic care relieves pain in the back, joints, hips and neck. It also provides better functioning and stability of the pelvic region.

2. Can Target Nausea

Another common pregnancy symptom is nausea. The spinal cord and spinal nerves make up part of the system chiropractic treatments focus on. These are part of the central nervous system.

Chiropractic alignments and treatments can help enhance the functioning of the entire central nervous system, which in turn helps ease nausea.

3. Baby Positioning

Everyone wants an uncomplicated pregnancy and birth. But, unfortunately, this does not always happen. One of the complications that might occur relates to how the baby is positioned in the womb.

If they present in a breech position, this is a sure sign that some interventions have to be attempted to try and reposition the baby.

A pelvic alignment resets the ligaments and muscles in the pelvic region, decreasing any intrauterine constraint. This allows for a better birthing position as it can give the baby space to maneuver and even help move its head downwards.

4. Easier, Shorter Labor and Delivery

Receiving regular chiropractic care throughout pregnancy can ensure that the pelvis, spine, and hips are properly aligned and that your nerves are functioning optimally.

Learn more about Vital Family Chiropractic Services in Pregnancy care.

A bit of stress in life is often harmless, in fact, it’s considered normal. However, when you find yourself being stressed more often than not, it is cause for concern.

While stress is often thought to affect people mentally, this is not all it does. At times, some physical reactions and conditions result from stress as well.

Here are some ways in which stress affects your body.

1. Mental Disorders

Anxiety is a common mood disorder that is often a byproduct of stress. Life experiences and genetics indeed play a role in one’s mental health.

However, one theory suggests that hormones released when stressed also disrupt serotonin levels. Serotonin is a chemical that regulates one’s mood. Over time, a continuous disruption in serotonin levels due to stress can cause depression, anxiety and other mental disorders.

2. Insomnia

An adult should get at least 7 hours of good quality sleep every night. It is not very concerning if you fail to fall or stay asleep once in a while. This can happen for a number of reasons, none that are too worrying.

However, insomnia is when you cannot fall or stay asleep for at least three nights in a week, for a month or longer. This brings about fatigue, stress, lack of concentration and irritability.

When left untreated, insomnia can also cause other health issues, including heart problems, weight management issues, depression, and anxiety.

3. Stress Affects Heart Health

Stress can affect your heart in several ways.

The first is that it can contribute to heart disease, abnormal heartbeats and high blood pressure. Similarly, people who already have these conditions will experience worsened symptoms when their stress levels are elevated.

The second way is that stress can make certain blood cells become stickier than they should be. This places one at risk of blood clots and strokes.

These are biological reactions.

Another way stress can affect your heart health is through the adoption of unhealthy coping mechanisms. Some behaviors associated with stress include smoking, binge eating and excessive alcohol consumption. These open you up to a host of other health problems.

4. It Can Cause Skin Problems

The appearance of your skin is often a good indicator of your overall health.

When you are overly stressed, your body releases a hormone that can make the skin more reactive and sensitive. Stress hormones can also aggravate existing skin problems. People with eczema, psoriasis and acne tend to experience more hives and rashes when stressed.

5. It Weakens One’s Immunity

The immune system is a cluster of organs, proteins and cells that work together to protect your body from harmful fungi, bacteria, viruses and toxins. By doing this, your immune system protects you from illnesses and diseases.

Studies have shown that people with chronic stress tend to have fewer white blood cells. These are the cells responsible for fighting disease. As a result, stressed people are more vulnerable to colds and other illnesses.

People with other chronic conditions tend to have more pronounced symptoms during extended stressful periods.

Learn more about Vital Family Chiropractic Services in better ways of handling stressors.