The Essentials of Chiropractic Care During Pregnancy | Podcast Ep. 43

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Hello and welcome to the Evidence Based Chiropractor. I AM your host, Dr. Jeff Langmaid. Today we have a very special episode that's near and dear to my heart and it focuses on chiropractic care during pregnancy. So in my personal practice, I did a lot with expecting moms. So today we're gonna highlight a piece of research that dives into that unique and special relationship. So as we touched on at the top, today we have a special, special episode and it revolves around a piece of research that was released that highlights how chiropractic care can have a positive impact on pregnancy. And it is titled a Randomized Controlled trial comparing a Multimodal intervention and Standard Obstetrics Care for Low Back Pain and Pelvic Pain in Pregnancy. Long start there and it was featured in the American Journal of Obstetrics and gynecology in 2012. So there's two things I'll say at the top of this, which is number one, having a piece of chiropractic research that highlights what we do as chiropractors in a multimodal care setting is very important to have. From the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. It's a top tier publication. Number two is that it's a randomized control trial. So it is again, top tier, a grade research in a top tier journal. So it's a very powerful piece. And really what they looked at was expecting moms, pregnancy related care and the moms had low back pain and or pelvic pain and they were given a choice or they were randomized and controlled between ultimately standard care, standard obstetrics care, or a multimodal program which included chiropractic care. So as we all know, and certainly what I would tell you if you're not already, is taking care of expecting moms in pregnancy related care is one of the best things you can do in your practice. There's a few reasons for it. Number one is that you're really impacting the point of almost the point of conception or inception for that baby. I think that making sure that the mom has a nice pain free, smooth labor and ultimate delivery sets things up for the fetus and ultimately the baby. I don't think that can be underestimated, but in a more pragmatic sense, it's one of the best things you can do to grow your practice because expecting moms have exceptionally limited choices in what they can do for care. Almost everybody is going to experience some form of low back or pelvic pain during pregnancy. It's a given. Yet many moms can't, shouldn't, or don't want to take medications for that pain. They're certainly not surgical candidates. Imaging is very, very difficult, difficult to obtain and not indicated many times unless it's an emergency condition. And it's something that most parents, moms, expecting moms and expecting dads are looking for more natural and alternative types of care during that time. They want it. Safety's job one and they don't like the idea, nor should they, of taking any medications per se for the aches and pains associated with pregnancy. And those aches and pains are bound to happen because. Because as the fetus grows, the center of gravity pulls forward, the lordosis in the spine is accentuated and it stresses the facet joints, it stresses the disc, it stresses the musculoskeletal system and it ultimately impacts our nervous system. That of course results in pain or dysfunction, lack of mobility, et cetera. And again, we come full circle. It becomes a very difficult item to treat except when we talk about chiropractic care. Chiropractic care has been proven to be extremely effective in taking care of pregnancy related low back pain, sciatica and pelvic pain. Also, many practitioners, gynecologists, obstetricians, midwives, doulas are very open to referring to chiropractic care during that time. Their ability to treat is very limited. And chiropractic care becomes a very, very, a very, very interesting proposition during that time. So I think most chiropractors, if you're not taking care of expecting moms, you're really missing out on a great population to take care of number one. But also a population that is near and dear to us as chiropractors in influencing the next generation on planet earth here. So without further ado, we'll dive into a few quotes that the researchers found during this study. I'm going to repeat the title. It is a randomized controlled trial comparing a multiple multimodal intervention and standard obstetrics care for low back pain and pelvic pain during pregnancy. So the researchers found these results suggest that the multimodal approach in the mom treatment in pregnancy reduces pain and discomfort while improving the quality of daily activities for pregnant women who experience low back pain. Powerful statement right there. It just about says it all. But we'll touch on two other statements. A multimodal approach to low back pain and pelvic pain in mid pregnancy benefits patients more than standard obstetric care alone. We'll go back to that one. But let's talk about number three. They found a chiropractic approach to musculoskeletal low back pain, pelvic pain instituted in late second and early third trimesters. Pregnancy benefit the patient. So that is about as black and white and as clear as it gets. And we talked about this. This is a randomized controlled trial that was released in 2012 in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. And basically those three statements that we just touched on say it all. They found that chiropractic care undeniably influences a more positive experience for the mom during her pregnancy. She experiences less low back pain, less pelvic pain, greater ability to perform daily activities, and a better overall range of motion. So truly what those things combine to tell me is I deem that a quality of life experience that is raised, that's elevated. And again, we touched on at the top for many moms. Almost every expecting mom experiences low back pain, pelvic pain during pregnancy. It's very challenging, especially individuals who had previous episodes of sciatic or low back pain. They can be greatly exacerbated during that nine months of waiting for baby. So especially as they highlighted during the second trimester and third trimester, no surprise there that the baby is gaining weight dramatically. It's really influencing that lordosis. It's really influencing the facet joints in that lumbar spine and altering ultimately the center of gravity. Many moms experience a greater incidence of low back pain and especially if they've had issues with that in the past. So as we bring that full circle one more time, the challenges that many obstetricians face, many midwives, many doulas, is almost all treatment options are contraindicated during pregnancy. Imaging becomes challenging. You really don't want to shoot any imaging unless it's an emergency type situation. Medications are off the table, surgery's off the table unless an emergency arises. So chiropractic care, chiropractors fit perfectly, absolutely perfectly in that niche of somebody who can provide effective, safe care during that nine months, during that first, second and ultimately third trimester. There is truly no other healthcare profession or treatment options that is better suited to take care of an expecting mom than chiropractic. Not only that, we've known it for years. The International Chiropractic Pediatric association has done a fantastic job touching on this and providing a vast array of research throughout the years. It's an organization that I fully support. However, it also is absolutely fantastic when we can see a randomized control trial in a publication that is not chiro specific. I think it adds a lot of impact. It adds a ton of credence to what we do each and every day as chiropractors. So I love this study because it's near and dear to my heart as a practitioner. I certainly hope you enjoyed it as well. We released this as a special bonus brief for members of the Evidence Based Chiropractor approximately a year ago. So if you are not yet a member of the Evidence Based Chiropractor, you're truly missing out. I strongly suggest you check out what we have to offer@the evidencebasedchiropractor.com we've helped chiropractors around the world build, grow and develop their practices by bringing bringing more referrals into their offices. Secondly, a ton of you thousands of chiropractors each and every week have listened to this podcast and I would love it if you took the opportunity and gave us a rating or review on itunes. So after we finish this momentarily, please take one moment. It helps keep us up in the charts, it helps get our message as chiropractors to more and more people. And an easy way to do that is just take one moment, go to iTunes and click a nice 5 star rating or give us a review at the Evidence Based Chiropractor podcast. I would greatly appreciate it. So without further ado, have a fantastic week in practice and I'll talk to you soon.

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