The February 18, 2016, issue of the Journal of Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health published a documented case study of a pregnant woman who was suffering from migraines, neck pain and back pain being helped with chiropractic.
The study begins by reporting that, “The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) for women and particularly for women of childbearing years and during pregnancy is substantial.” Chiropractic is one of the most widely utilized forms of CAM. The authors note that about a third of all pregnant woman use some form of CAM, but only half of them disclose this information to their medical practitioner.
In this case, a 28-year-old woman presented herself for chiropractic evaluation and possible care. At that time, she was 29 weeks pregnant with her second pregnancy. She was suffering from chronic migraines associated with neck and back pain.
She reported that her first pregnancy resulted in an emergency C-section and she was hoping to be able to have a vaginal birth for this current pregnancy. However, complicating this pregnancy was that a recent ultrasound showed that the baby’s placenta was partially blocking the mother’s cervix. This condition is known placenta previa.
A chiropractic examination was performed which included postural analysis, spinal palpation, spinal motion, surface electromyogram, and paraspinal thermography. With consent, chiropractic care began for correction of subluxations that were determined from the examination.
By the third visit, the patient reported that her migraines were gone. By the fourth visit her placenta previa was resolved as confirmed on imaging. The patient was successfully able to have a vaginal birth even after her first pregnancy resulted in a c-section. She reported no complications to her birth, and her labor was fast and without the need for any medications.
In their conclusions the authors wrote, “We described the successful care of a pregnant patient presenting with a chief complaint of chronic migraines and pregnancy-related neck and back pain. This case report highlights benefits of chiropractic care beyond symptom care with resolution of placenta previa and successful VBAC, (vaginal birth after cesarean).”
