CHIROPRACTIC NEWS
Chiropractic care can help pregnancy pain and ease delivery
March 3, 2009
The stress placed on a woman's body during pregnancy can lead to many complications that, while not life-threatening, cause discomfort or pain. In many cases, chiropractic adjustments can alleviate pregnancy pain, decrease delivery time, and improve the babys position in-utero.
Anne Packard-Spicer, DC, a faculty clinician at Northwestern Health Sciences University, says chiropractic adjustments can balance a womans spine and pelvis for normal functioning of the muscular and nervous systems. This allows better maternal body function, which will have a benefit to the baby.
According to Packard-Spicer, when a womans pelvis is properly aligned, the uterus will be under less nerve and mechanical stress, which causes the baby to be in a more comfortable position during labor. Chiropractic adjustments can begin at any time and can continue all the way up to the day of delivery.
Many women worry about getting adjusted while they are pregnant, but chiropractic is gentle and very safe throughout pregnancy,says Packard-Spicer. There is no evidence that adjustments have ever harmed a pregnant woman or her baby. In my 12 years of experience, it is safe, gentle, and effective.
Packard-Spicer says that pregnant women who are experiencing little to no pain should seek chiropractic evaluation to assess whether they are experiencing any misalignments. Asymptomatic patients may not need to be adjusted, but should be evaluated on a regular basis during pregnancy. Additionally, women who are considering becoming pregnant should receive chiropractic evaluations three months before conceiving.
Pregnant women who are experiencing back or leg pain should be adjusted two-to-three times a week until their pain is stabilized, says Packard-Spicer.
After delivery, women should seek chiropractic care within the first 12 weeks, adds Packard-Spicer. During pregnancy, the hormone relaxin circulates throughout the body, loosening the joints so that the pelvis can stretch open during delivery. After birth, the joints begin to tighten again. Checking for proper spinal alignment during this time may allow for the correction of chronic problems by allowing the spine to tighten in a normal alignment.
Source: Northwestern Health Sciences University, www.nwhealth.edu/nwtoday/index.html
U.S. Rep. introduces legislation expanding chiropractic services
January 27, 2009
U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., has reintroduced legislation into the U.S. House of Representatives that would extend chiropractic healthcare services to U.S. military retirees, dependents, and survivors as part of the TRICARE program.
If signed into law, HR 484, the Chiropractic Health Parity for Military Beneficiaries Act, would require the Secretary of Defense to develop a plan to allow any beneficiary covered under TRICARE to select and have direct access to a doctor of chiropractic. The plan deadline is Aug. 31, 2009.
“We owe our service members and their families the best quality healthcare available, which is why the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) and the Association of Chiropractic Colleges (ACC) are proud to have played a significant role in developing the language for this bill,” said ACA President Glenn Manceaux, DC.
For years, the ACA has been lobbying Congress to more fully integrate chiropractic care — a proven and cost-effective healthcare choice — into the military and veterans’ healthcare systems. Although recent legislation has established a permanent chiropractic care benefit for America’s veterans and active-duty military personnel, chiropractic care is only available at a limited number of stateside military bases and VA facilities across the country.
Source: American Chiropractic Association, www.amerchiro.org
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