Sciatica is common, but preventable. You may have seen a pregnant woman rub her lower back, or knead her knuckles into her buttocks in an effort to relieve shooting pains. Chiropractic is one of the best and gentlest ways to restore function, especially during pregnancy.
What is Sciatica?
Sciatica is a pain in the butt. Literally. However, the irritated sciatic nerve can give you shooting, debilitating pain over a larger area than just your glutes and down the back of your leg. Officially, it’s defined as an irritation of “the longest and widest nerve” in the body, running from the lower back, along the legs and down to your toes.
How Does Chiropractic Help Sciatica?
How does that nerve get so annoyed? The sciatic nerve becomes compressed when your bones are misaligned.
Chiropractors call this a subluxation. Misalignments can happen from physical factors (regular activity, exercise or trauma), chemical factors (vitamin deficiency or drug use) and emotional factors (like stress and depression.)
During pregnancy, your body needs to accommodate to a growing baby. Part of the process includes higher levels of the hormone relaxin, to loosen your ligaments. However, it means that you slip out of alignment much more easily.
Subluxations causing sciatica create various degrees of discomfort or radiating pain that can be debilitating, disrupting you from walking or sleeping.
Specific chiropractic adjustments help sciatica tremendously. The chiropractor identifies and removes interferences in the nervous system from their source, putting the bones back in place.
Since chiropractic is non-invasive and drug-free, it is a safe, gentle option for mom and baby.
For acute pregnancy sciatica, Dr. Katie generally recommends being adjusted 2-3 times per week to help you hold the adjustment and relieve the pressure on the sciatic nerve.
Certain glute stretches, foam rolling and exercises can help to strengthen and stabilize the muscles after the bones are aligned.
This great BirthFit article says “…it is important to correct biomechanics and reduce inflammation to allow the condition to resolve. Rest/Recovery is crucial to recover from any condition resulting from inflammation, some time off may provide the relief needed!” Read more information here about sciatica and piriformis syndrome.
Get Adjusted
If you or a pregnant mother you know is struggling with sciatica, book an appointment for an evaluation and adjustment with Dr. Katie today.
Dr. Katie Schlein D.C. is a family chiropractor located in San Diego. You can learn more about her here. She specializes in prenatal, pediatric and youth athlete chiropractic care but serves families of all shapes, sizes and ages. Through mutual support and striving to understand her patients’ needs, Dr. Katie is committed to helping families reach their maximum health potential with the help of chiropractic care.