Pregnancy Care

Pregnancy & Chiropractic

Our chiropractors are trained to work with women who are pregnant. Pregnancy care is safe for both mom and baby, and working with pregnant women is something we do all the time here at SouthCare Chiropractic.

In fact, our own Dr. Dave Helmkay has taken a specific interest in prenatal and postnatal care. This has lead him to take on rigorous additional and ongoing training, including becoming certified in the well-known Webster Technique.

In addition to providing chiropractic adjustments, we can also provide you with exercises and stretches that are safe to use during pregnancy.

Why have chiropractic care during pregnancy?

Chiropractic care is recommended for pregnant women for the same reasons we recommend general chiropractic care: to encourage the expectant mother’s body and brain to perform at its best.

More specifically, we often see pregnant women in Nanaimo book chiropractic appointments because they are experiencing a new-found pain or discomfort that wasn’t present before the pregnancy.

Common examples include lower back pain caused by the relatively sudden weight gain, or a strain/sprain caused by an off-balance tumble.

Relieving pain caused by musculoskeletal stress

During pregnancy, there are several physiological and endocrinological (hormonal) changes that occur in preparation for creating the environment for the developing baby.

Examples include:

• a protruding abdomen & increased back curve
• pelvic changes
• postural adaptations

These changes can result in a misaligned spine or joints, which in turn can cause discomfort or pain in the body. Ouch!

Fortunately, chiropractic can help relieve the musculoskeletal stress caused by the changing body. With regular chiropractic adjustments during the course of pregnancy, we can work to restore the body’s misalignments and lessen or eliminate pain.

The nervous system is the master communication system to all the body systems — including the reproductive system. Keeping the spine aligned helps the entire body work more effectively.

The Webster Technique

Dr. David Helmkay is certified in the “Webster Technique” by the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA).

Initially developed by Dr. Larry Webster (founder of the ICPA), the Webster Technique is a “specific chiropractic sacral analysis and diversified adjustment”.

This technique was developed to help establish a neuro-biomechanical balance of pelvic muscles and ligaments. The goal of this particular adjustment is to reduce the effects of sacral subluxation/sacroiliac joint dysfunction (aka “SI Joint Pain”).

Clear as mud, right? Let’s dig a little deeper into what that all means.

Sacral subluxation & SI joint pain

We can start by defining a few terms:

• Sacral: relating to the sacrum, a shield-shaped bony structure located at the base of the lumbar vertebrae, connected to the pelvis.
• Subluxation: a less-than-full dislocation of a joint. You may wish to think of subluxations as a misalignment of a joint.
• SI joint: sacroiliac joint; the joint between the sacrum and the ilium bones of the pelvis.

So “sacral subluxation” here refers to a dysfunction caused by improper movement in the sacroiliac (or SI) joint.

To bring it full-circle, the Webster Technique is a specific method of adjustment we use to help lessen the effects of sacral subluxation.

Chiropractic Care for Pregnant Women

As you probably know, chiropractic care is focused on helping you achieve a healthy spine. We do this by correcting subluxations – or misalignments – in the spine, pelvis, and cranium. These corrections are achieved by making manual (hands-on) adjustments to the body.

By using the specific sacral analysis afforded by the Webster Technique, we are able to detect and alleviate sacral imbalance in pregnant women.

Through chiropractic adjustments, we can then help to optimize your neuro-biomechanical balance.

When working with pregnant women, restoring this balance can provide the same benefits that general chiropractic care can provide anyone.

Getting started

If you would like to learn more about chiropractic care and pregnancy, we encourage you to contact us.

Together we can take the time to determine if chiropractic care during your pregnancy is right for you.

We are obliged to note that the Webster Technique is an adjustment method that is applicable to everyone, not just pregnant women. In fact, this specific chiropractic sacral analysis can be used on all “weight-bearing individuals”. Now you know!

When the baby arrives, improper carrying, lifting, and feeding techniques can lead to imbalances and pain throughout your back.

In addition to providing adjustments to remove the pain-causing interference, we can coach you on proper techniques to avoid future injuries and pain.

Babies can experience small injuries during the normal birthing process. These injuries may cause the new baby to eat poorly, to have difficulty latching, to limit their head movement, or to cry endlessly.

Our chiropractors are trained to examine the baby for these birthing-related injuries. We often find that both mom AND baby are much happier after a few quick adjustments!