How Postpartum Chiropractic Care Can Benefit New Mothers?

While a woman’s body goes through a lot during pregnancy, the same can be said for the period after delivery. Essentially, the body will need to reconstruct itself and readjust after the baby is born. The majority of women experience pain after they give birth, but some of this pain may not be “normal.” The pelvis and spine undergo immense changes during gestation, so it makes sense that these areas might cause problems after delivery.

Learn about some of the more common pains for new mothers, chiropractic treatments to help the ailments, and ways to prevent the pain at home.

1. Arm & Shoulder Pain

After years of being your own independent person, you will suddenly find yourself carrying a baby for multiple hours within the day. Ranging anywhere from 5.5 to 10 pounds in the newborn stage, the extra weight can take its toll after a couple of weeks. If you carry the baby with the same arm, you may notice pain and aches on a specific side.

Try to switch arms often to provide muscle rest. Additionally, a chiropractor can perform targeted treatments and focus on sore muscles. Relief from a chiropractor is often paired with a hot compress to relax the muscles. You should also try to sit more while you hold the baby. The weight distribution will not put so much weight directly on your arm.

2. Hand Pain

New parents may use their hands a lot more on a daily basis. You will nurture the baby, hold a pacifier in their mouth, and constantly change diapers. If a baby is fed with formula or pumped breast milk, then you will open bottles and wash bottles on a consistent basis. By the end of the day, you may feel hand pain that goes deep and could extend down your wrist.

Chiropractors go beyond basic massages to offer hand pain relief. Heat therapy and electrical stimulation could ease muscles in your hand. And a chiropractor may offer at-home support for your hand in the form of wrist braces. You may want to consider extra assistance at home as well, which could reduce hand pain and inflammation.

3. Lower Back Pain

Lower back pain is a general problem that can occur from many activities with a baby. Multiple times a day, you may lean over a crib or a car seat to retrieve your baby. You could carry the baby around for an excess amount of time. If you breastfeed, then lower back pain could occur from the positions you hold your baby in to breastfeed.

Support pillows with a focus on your lower back can provide more comfort while you sit. In some cases, a back brace will offer extra support, as you bend over often. A chiropractor may perform an X-ray or ultrasound to look at your spine and back muscles. From there, targeted treatments will focus on healing specific areas.

A weekly appointment can relieve your back of pain and provide some much-needed healing. As the baby grows bigger in size, the pains may only increase and create more damage, which is why the earlier you focus on treatment options, the better the situation can end up.

4. Hip Pain

There’s a reason parents often use the phrase attached to the hip. Once a baby can hold their head up on their own, you can adjust their position and have the baby cradle the side of your body. While the position may offer comfort at first, a lot of pressure is applied directly to your hip. Hip pain can cause a lot of inflammation and extend down through the groin and leg.

While you may think the pains are leg-based, a chiropractor can complete an exam and will often find inflammation of the hip as one of the main pain sources.

One of the main treatment options for hip pain is a hip adjustment. A chiropractor will adjust your hip back into place and reduce the inflammation you suffer from.

Often, pain relief is instant and can result in more mobility and flexibility. You may need an adjustment on one or both hips depending on the treatment method. Focused massages relieve pain associated with muscle knots as well.

5. Neck Pain

All of the positions a new mother goes through can also put a strain on your neck. For example, you may find yourself looking down at your baby a lot. The neck strain may extend from the top of the neck all the way down the spine. An initial neck treatment may include a readjustment similar to the hip. And deep tissue massages will relax muscles.

A chiropractor will teach you better posture and sitting positions to reduce neck pain. Neck exercises and movements will build flexibility and fluid motion in the neck so you can sit comfortably with a baby and look down when you need to. You may also need a neck brace, which may seem like too much, but it could limit sudden movements in some situations.

Ultimately, any new or expectant mother can benefit from seeing a chiropractor after delivery. Whether you’re struggling with incessant pain and discomfort or you simply want to improve your sleep and energy levels, chiropractic care professional can help. For more information, please contact us today.