Why do pregnancy and sciatica go hand in hand?

The formula is quite simple really. A pregnant woman’s body is a mosaic of growing and shifting weight, which in turn moves her center of gravity forward. By decentralizing the weight of the body, forces are not evenly distributed on the spine. As her abdominal muscles become stretched in the front, core stabilizing muscles are often weak and unable to cope with the added weight bearing down on the spine. As pregnancy hormones conspire to loosen ligaments in the pelvis, you then have to contend with imbalance in the pelvis which further destabilizes the spine at its very base. In such an environment, sciatica is an easy conclusion- an unbalanced, unsupported spine is liable to put pressure on the surrounding nerves. When the pressurized nerve happens to be the sciatica nerve (the largest in the body), you may experience the classic symptoms of sciatica which can add a lot of anxiety into the mix. 

Treating sciatica with pregnancy chiropractic 

Our treatment plan for pregnant women suffering from sciatica is to use specific sacral adjustments that restore pelvic stability and alignment through the base of the spine. This forces a redistribution of the pressure of your body weight and alleviates nerve impingement. From here, we focus on using gentle stretching and exercise to mitigate stress on the musculature and help create a more supportive, nurturing environment in the mother’s body that benefits both her and her child. If you are interested in finding out how a chiropractor who specializes in pregnancy can make your pregnancy more comfortable, give our office in Fremont a call to schedule an appointment today.