There are many reasons that women seek chiropractic care postpartum but here are the four most important reasons:
1. Low Back Pain Relief
New moms will usually come in because they have some pain following the birth process. The pelvic floor has been stretched and stressed, and so they have some lower back issues. They can have hip or pelvic issues. The pelvic floor can be weakened, and sometimes we’ll actually refer moms out for physical therapy to do some pelvic floor correction. Some moms will be plagued with a little bit of leakage or some just ongoing pain. So, it’s great to have that addressed both through chiropractic care, adjusting the structure, and then sometimes pelvic floor therapy, which I don’t personally do in the office, but often recommend physical therapists for.
2. Muscle Strain Relief
There are a lot of physical things that new moms are going to experience such as lifting and carrying the baby, bending forward to care for the baby, and breastfeeding. And we can’t forget all the accoutrements that go with a new baby like when you walk out the door with the baby carrier, you’re wearing the baby on the front or on your back, or you’re pushing a stroller, carrying a pack and play and a diaper bag. There are a lot of different stresses and strains that come with being a new parent. Those really come into play when people are seeking chiropractic care.
3. Manage Stress
Keeping mom’s spine lined up, healthy and moving well is important because it keeps pressure off her nerve system. Her nerve system is what drives their body’s ability to heal and deal with stress. So, it’s important to have a free, clear nerve system so your body can make better decisions.
4. Better Sleep
Moms don’t get a lot of sleep when they are postpartum. They spend a little more time in stress, fight or flight so they’re adrenalized, and their sympathetic overdrive is constantly going. Chiropractic care for moms, even in the absence of pain, will help balance the parasympathetic and sympathetic nerve system and that’s important because that’ll keep mom’s chemistry away from fight or flight. The muscles are less tense and usually they’ll have a much better chance of healing. When you’re in sympathetic overdrive, your immune system quite doesn’t work so well because your body is shutting it down because again, it thinks you’re in fight or flight and has to protect yourself.
Those are the primary reasons that we see moms postpartum. Typically, a lot of it is the physical manifestations from lifting, bending, carrying, breastfeeding, and all that type of stuff. It’s really important that we make sure that these moms are getting checked so they have the least amount of stress in their bodies and on their nerve system so they can be the best moms they can be to raise healthy drug-free kids.
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Dr. Gregg D. Rubinstein, D.C., is a midtown Manhattan chiropractor with over 30 years of experience providing customized chiropractic treatment services to a wide range of clients in the Midtown Manhattan/West New York City area. Dr. Gregg Rubinstein and 57th Street Chiropractic can be reached at (212) 977-7094 and is located at 119 West 57th St. in New York, NY.
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