Waldorf Chronicles

NaturalNews) Chiropractic during pregnancy is an important part of prenatal care. Unfortunately, not enough women know of the benefits of chiropractic care both for themselves and their unborn baby. A woman's body undergoes an amazing amount of changes during pregnancy. As her baby grows her musculoskeletal system must adjust accordingly to accommodate the growing uterus and prepare for delivery. Chiropractic care helps her body to stay aligned as these changes occur and also helps to keep the nervous system functioning at its optimal level.

Many pregnant women experience low back pain, hip pain, and pubic symphysis. These discomforts are the result of the stresses put on the body by the rapid growth of the baby and the changes the body must undergo to accommodate those adjustments. As her belly gets bigger, the woman's center of gravity changes. The growth is so quick that it is often difficult for the low back and pelvis to adjust to this change. This causes stress in those areas, resulting in misalignments, (or subluxations as they are called by chiropractors) which then causes pain and dysfunction. If a woman's low back and pelvis was out of alignment before her pregnancy it is even harder for her back and pelvis to adjust. When the pelvis is subluxated (misaligned) it affects the uterus and the position of the growing baby.

The uterus is connected to the pelvis by ligaments: the broad ligament, the uterosacral ligaments, and the round ligaments. Like a hot air balloon tethered to the ground, these ligaments work to keep the uterus in the proper place in the pelvis and allow support as the uterus grows to accommodate the growing baby. If the pelvis is subluxated, these ligaments can become torqued. When the ligaments are affected, they directly affect the position of the uterus which can result in the baby not being in an optimal position. This type of situation may result in a breech baby or a transverse (sideways) baby.

The goal of the chiropractor is to correct the subluxations in the pelvis to help balance the uterus and allow the baby to get into a better position. Chiropractic adjustments for a pregnant woman are specific, gentle, and safe. Some chiropractors are certified in the Webster Technique which is a technique that is used to relieve intrauterine constraint caused by imbalance in the pelvis and the pelvic ligaments. Webster certified chiropractors adjust the pelvis and also feel for and relieve tension in the round ligaments.

Besides increasing a pregnant woman's comfort level, an aligned pelvis can result in a quicker, safer, and easier birth. When a baby is in breech or transverse position a cesarean section is almost always performed. Because they are so common many people forget that a c-section is a major abdominal surgery and can be risky. Helping the baby to get into a proper head-down position by balancing the pelvis and ligaments helps to avoid c-sections due to baby positioning. Other variations in baby position such as a tilted head or a "sunny side up" baby (face up during delivery) can also be caused by pelvic imbalance and may result in a more difficult, painful, and longer labor and delivery.

NEWLY RELEASED STUDY CONFIRMS:
Chiropractic Does Not Increase Risk of Stroke

by American Chiropractic Association

A new study finds there is no evidence of excess risk of stroke following chiropractic spinal manipulation, according to a February 2008 report in the journal Spine. In the study, researchers noted that patients are no more likely to suffer a stroke following chiropractic treatment than they would after visiting their family doctor’s office.

The study goes on to say that any observed association between a vertebrobasilar artery (VBA) stroke and chiropractic manipulation is likely due to patients with an undiagnosed vertebral artery dissection seeking care for neck pain and headache before their stroke.

“This may prove to be one of the most important and significant studies in the profession’s history,” said ACA President Glenn Manceaux, DC. “The results of this study confirm that chiropractic manipulation is a safe and appropriate course of treatment.”

The issue of stroke being associated with a chiropractic neck adjustment focuses around the very rare occurrence of a tear to the vertebral artery as it passes through the sides of the upper cervical vertebrae and into the base of the skull. An injury to the arterial wall may lead to formation of a blood clot, which can break free and travel upward until it lodges in one of the smaller blood vessels in the base of the brain, blocking circulation.

There are many reports in the literature of cervical artery dissections (CADs) occurring after everyday activities that most people would consider non-traumatic, such as turning the head when driving, having your hair washed at a beauty salon, or sleeping on your stomach.

A research paper published in 2001 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found there is only a one-in-5.85-million risk that a chiropractic neck adjustment will be associated with a subsequent CAD and stroke.

In this new study, the Canadian team looked at nine years of data in Ontario, and found that only 818 patients with a VBA stroke were reported among a population of some 11.5 million people. Unlike a previous study in 2001 that investigated the relationship between chiropractic visits and vertebral artery stroke, researchers in this study also studied visits to family doctors that preceded this kind of stroke.

According to the study’s authors, “Because the association between chiropractic visits and VBA stroke is not greater than the association between PCP visits and VBA stroke, there is no excess risk of VBA stroke from chiropractic care.”

Stroke Warning Signs

While there are no standard screening procedures to identify patients with neck pain who are also at risk of a VBA stroke, health care providers should be aware of the following stroke warning:

> Sudden difficulty speaking (slurred speech) understanding what people are saying
> Sudden onset of confusion or altered mental status, such as loss of consciousness, or recognizing people who should be familiar
> Sudden numbness or tingling on one side the face or body, or both
> Sudden onset of dizziness or unsteadiness, loss of balance or coordination, or both
> Sudden difficulty walking or standing upright
> Sudden severe headache
> Sudden severe unexplained upper-neck pain
> Sudden trouble with vision or sight