It’s a big part of my practice to focus on the energy side of things and during pregnancy women feel a lot of emotions and waves of feelings. As chiropractic deals with structural bio mechanical issues, I have found that emotions, among other things, can be a great cause of stress, and therefore tightness in the muscles causing aches and pains elsewhere.

Feelings of inadequacy or overwhelmed often times gets stored in the shoulders and neck and can be the cause of neck/shoulder tightness and even headaches. Letting go of those feelings through the Emotion Code or by some other means, can greatly improve the softness of your muscles and make the pregnant mother feel better.

The emotion of overwhelmed is also one that is produced by the sexual organs and glands (including the uterus) according to Chinese Medicine. If mom is feeling this emotion, then there is a high probability that growing baby is feeling it as well since it’s inside the original organ producing it. Pregnant moms get take steps to calm the mind, and recognize that the universe isn’t ever going to throw something at you that you wont be able to handle.

Yours in Health,

Dr. Josef Patterson…

Calcium is only absorbed in the blood stream from an ionized form of calcium. This ionized form is calcium bicarbonate. The different calcium’s on the market are most commonly in the form of calcium carbonate. Carbonate is much different in the body than bicarbonate and is pretty much limestone. Limestone takes about 12 steps in the body for it to turn into the absorbable, ionized form of calcium bicarbonate to be utilized. You cannot absorb calcium carbonate in the body to go to the bones and tissues unless it goes through all the steps. If the body gets too much calcium carbonate, sometimes it doesn’t know what to do with it. This is partly why people may be prone to getting calcium deposits in the skin, muscles, or organs. To avoid calcium deposits, it is important to take a calcium supplement with food since calcium is inherently alkaline, and to not take more than 500mg of calcium at a time.¹

A better form a calcium to take, which takes only one step to turn into bicarbonate is calcium lactate. It is absorbed very quickly and can greatly benefit the muscles and tissues of the body promptly. Standard Process’s Calcium Lactate has 5 parts calcium lactate and one part magnesium. This gives the product a pH of 5.2 (on the acidic side) which makes it a lot more assimilated in the gut.

Anyone who is pregnant needs to supplement with calcium to support proper growth of the baby, as well as to maintain healthy and strong bones and teeth for the mother! I give Standard Process’s Calcium Lactate to all my pregnant patients and they have found great benefit in taking it!

References:

1. https://muschealth.org/medical-services/geriatrics-and-aging/healthy-aging/calcium

Yours in Health,

Dr. Josef Patterson…

Often times a pregnant mother, especially in the first trimester, gets sick and receives an aversion towards food. What also happens is the mothers body will put the growing baby first in priority over the mother. So if mom is not eating very much during pregnancy, then any calorie or nutrient that is taken is being sent to baby and mom doesn’t get it! 

Calcium for instance, if not eaten or taken regularly during pregnancy will cause a bunch of issues with mom. Baby will get calcium to grow his or her bones one way or another, and if they don’t get it through moms diet, then they will get it from moms bones themselves. Yes, bone density can decrease in women who lack sufficient vitamins and minerals in their diet. Calcium especially is needed for muscle contraction and even more so for muscle relaxation! Yes, it takes more minerals and energy to relax a muscle than it does to contract it! This is why after people pass-on, they receive what’s called “rigor mortise” as their body stiffens up.

With insufficient calcium in the body, women also receive muscle cramps, which commonly known as “Charlie horses.” There are also so many different types of calcium’s out there. Which one is the best one to take? Are there side effects to any of them? We will explore more about calcium in our next blog post.

Yours in Health,

Dr. Josef Patterson…

We mentioned in our previous post about adjusting the pelvis to help relax the uterus more. There are two main ligaments that support the uterus on either side that chiropractors can address and I would like to discuss them here. These ligaments are the only ligaments in the human body that have muscle surrounding them. Not even Males have muscles that grow and get bigger around a ligament as the ligament gets bigger or stretched.

The first ligament attaching to the uterus is called the uterosacral ligament. This ligament comes from the back of the uterus and inserts into the sacrum. This ligament can be pulled too tight on one side if the sacrum is displaced. Adjusting the sacrum properly can assist this ligament with its associated surrounding muscle to relax and relieve tension on the uterus.

The second ligament we to discuss is the Round ligament. This one is most often felt by pregnant mothers because it’s the one that spasms or brings sharp pains when trying to situate and get comfortable in bed. It is located from the front of the pubic bone and inserts into the side of the uterus. This ligament can also be tight on one side, causing tension to be on the one side of the uterus. Therefore, this can make baby feel uncomfortable and want to move into a less-than-ready position (ie. Head down position).

Chiropractic care through the Webster Technique can and often does help ease the discomfort of women through labor and delivery. Pregnant mothers being so in tune with their bodies also see results quickly too.

Your’s in Health,

Dr. Josef Patterson…

Chiropractors do not claim to “flip” babies that are in the breech position. If they did, then they would be practicing obstetrics and could lose their license. The Doctor of Chiropractic treats the mother and her symptoms, or causes.

If we could think about it for a moment though, why would a baby be breeched in the first place? Some ideas floating around there could be that the mothers pelvic anatomy is in such a way that the baby doesn’t “fit right” in the womb. Others go on to say that the position the mother is continually in can cause the baby to be in a certain position. Another possibility is that because of the uterus being tight in some areas versus other areas, the baby is more squished on one side and may move to a more comfortable position. This is something the Webster Technique addresses.

If there is an imbalance with the pelvis biomechanically which is causing the pelvic bowl to be smaller, then fixing that imbalance can open the pelvis and relax the uterus to be more open. Doing this has caused some babies in the breech position to turn head down. This being said, it is not consistent and each pregnancy. If a mother has a breech baby, she should seek medical advice from her obstetrician or mid-wife to explore options during labor and delivery.

Yours in Health,

Dr. Josef Patterson…

First, while the pregnant mom is laying face down on the pregnancy pillow(s), the trained chiropractor is finds the side of the sacrum that is “rocked” back more on one side verses the other and adjusts that side either with a drop table, activator (clicker), or by mobilizing it. Then gently massaging the piriformis muscles on both sides helps the sacrum and the tail bone to relax even more. From here the doctor will palpate to find the tight sacrotuberous ligament and apply pressure on it to help it to relax as well. 

The patient is then brought to lay on her back and if there is any pubic symphasis pain, a gentle adjustment may occur, otherwise the practitioner will find which psoas muscle is tight and work to pin and stretch it to help it to relax. The psoas muscles go from the lower back and go in front of the pelvis to insert into the femur bone. This allows the legs to move up in front of you and if it’s tight, it can put tension on the uterus. Then the tight round ligament is identified and light pressure is applied to it till it relaxes. There you go! That’s the Webster Technique! Other chiropractors may add other adjustments according to the needs and wants of the patient, but that is the gist of the technique.

Yours in Health,

Dr. Josef Patterson…

Many women receive a large variety of complications during pregnancy. This can range from low back pain, pelvic pain, sciatic pain, numbness, high blood pressure, digestive issues, hormonal imbalances, difficulty sleeping and the list goes on. Can chiropractic care help with pelvic and low back pain during pregnancy? Yes! The Webster Technique was specifically designed to make sure that the pelvis is moving properly. If the pelvis is moving properly, then we can know that there is optimal space for the uterus and baby to move as well.

The Webster technique provides an adjustment to the sacrum, relief to the muscles in the gluteal region and relieves tension with the associated ligaments around the pelvis and uterus. 

Yours in Health,

Dr. Josef Patterson…

If a doctor does a thorough evaluation of the patient, and if there were no traumas in the patients past, then an X-ray of the affected area is often unnecessary. “Well, how would you know what segments to adjust if you can’t ‘see’ the misalignment?” Chiropractors are trained to palpate the spine and muscles. Let them use those skills. They ought to be able to feel with their hands a joint that is “displaced,” “stuck” or “out of place.”

With a proper new patient intake form, and a thorough evaluation of the patients past, and physical state, it is pretty easily discernible whether or not they need an X-ray. Often if physical trauma is present, then an X-ray is most likely recommended. Otherwise, the chiropractor can use critical thinking skills given their training to know a good course of action on their new patients treatment plan.

Yours in Health,

Dr. Josef Patterson…

Another con towards receiving very frequent chiropractic adjustments is in developing joint laxity. Over time of repeated adjustments to the same joints, the joints can become hyper-mobile, and become unstable. Well, what about the better posture part of this plan? Yes, you can receive better posture, but are you changing your lifestyle choices? Maybe your forward head posture is due to looking down at your phone for hours each day without exercising the muscles that work to support your head. It is just as important to make lifestyle changes when it comes to having good posture.

When making a decision on whether or not to follow through with this treatment plan, ask yourself, “If I choose to do this, am I choosing it out of fear? Or am I choosing it because I feel within my heart that it is right and that I should do it?” If you feel at peace with yourself about choosing this treatment plan, then by all means you should do it! If, however, you feel afraid that you’re going to die due to disc degeneration or suffer horrible arthritis if you don’t go through with this, then I might consider getting another opinion or re-evaluate what it is you get to do. In any sense, feel RIGHT about your decision.

Yours in Health,

Dr. Josef Patterson…

Yes, there are benefits to seeing a chiropractor! That much has been observed. Although, to what point? If a patient goes through with the previous blog posts’ treatment plan, they will see improved range of motion. They will see a positive change in the curvature in their spine with the post treatment X-ray. They will most likely see better improvement in their posture as well.

One of the cons to this treatment model is that each person has their own variations in their anatomy than that of anyone else on the planet. To say that they are dysfunctional and broken by comparing them to someone else, is putting the patient down. Should we be comparing ourselves with anyone else other than ourselves from our past? When we start comparing ourselves to others we will always be disappointment in ourself. Why? Because we will always find someone better than us. Someone with a larger curve in their spine, or someone else with a younger and healthier back. 

Yours in Health,

Dr. Josef Patterson…