Last Updated on April 4, 2024

From aches and back pain to nausea and an untold number of sleepless nights, pregnancy often comes along with a host of problematic side effects that can significantly impact a woman’s quality of life between the conception and birth of their little bundles of joy. More than half of all pregnant women experience such issues- especially back pain– before their delivery date. Thankfully, prenatal chiropractors can often provide some much-needed relief for soon-to-be mothers experiencing these issues. Here’s what to know about the safety and benefits of visiting a prenatal chiropractor to get relief from your pregnancy pains.

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Can You Go to the Chiropractor While Pregnant?

Millions of people visit a chiropractor regularly, including pregnant women. Chiropractic care helps maintain the health of your spinal column and joint alignment without the use of drugs or surgery. Prenatal chiropractic treatments are akin to physical therapy and help reduce stress on the spinal nerve to promote an overall healthy body and immune system. There are rarely any complications, and prenatal chiropractic care is believed to be perfectly safe, if not outright beneficial for many pregnant women looking for relief. Chiropractors receive specific training related to prenatal care, and they know how to treat pregnant women using techniques that don’t put any pressure on the abdomen. They can also help show you stretches to relieve your tension and ease the discomfort of your aches and pains.

That being said, it’s critical to note that there are some rare circumstances when prenatal chiropractic care isn’t recommended. Please be sure to talk to your regular physician and get their approval before starting any prenatal chiropractic treatment.

Related: Average Chiropractor Costs

How Does a Prenatal Chiropractor Help?

Throughout your pregnancy, you’ll experience physical and hormonal changes, and some of them will impact your comfort and posture. As your baby-to-be grows larger, your center of gravity begins to shift, causing your posture to alter. Other changes you might experience include an increased curve in your back and changes to your pelvis. These physical developments can easily lead to discomfort and even a misalignment of your spine or joints. Regular visits to a prenatal chiropractor throughout your pregnancy can help address these issues, alongside several other problematic pregnancy side effects that many women also encounter.

Are you struggling with nausea, back pain, sleepless nights, and other physical issues that tend to come along with pregnancy? Consider reaching out to Inner Gate to learn about how their prenatal chiropractor services can help you find some much-needed relief.

Top Benefits of Seeing a Pregnancy Chiropractor

If you’ve been pregnant before or are far enough along in your current pregnancy, you’re probably quite familiar with symptoms like back pain and fatigue that most pregnant women experience. Your body undergoes extensive hormonal and physical changes during pregnancy to create a healthy environment for a growing baby. While essential for the health of your child, these changes can cause you severe discomfort that you may not be able to handle on your own. Prenatal chiropractors can help relieve these issues, and pregnant women struggling with them should consider talking to their doctors about what it can do for their overall pregnancy experience.

Back Pain Relief and Improved Posture

Some women experience significant back pain during pregnancy as their spine’s supporting ligaments get looser and more fragile due to the production of the hormone “relaxin.” Many women also experience posture issues due to the unintentional “curving” of the back that often occurs throughout a pregnancy as the baby grows bigger. Working with a prenatal chiropractor can help ease the back pain that comes with these issues and help keep everything aligned properly. Adjustments made by a pregnancy chiropractor can also help correct that posture and spinal curve to keep back pain away and prevent potential long-term injury that will only result in more pain down the line.

Improved Sleep Quality

Back pain and improper sleep posture can lead to restlessness and poor sleep quality during pregnancy, which is when women really need as much quality sleep as they can get. Prenatal chiropractors can help teach pregnant women skills to improve their sleeping posture and their overall sleep quality by helping to reduce the effect of pregnancy back pains.

Injury Avoidance

Prenatal chiropractic care can help expectant mothers stay flexible while reducing the potential for stress injuries that can more easily occur due to body changes during pregnancy. The last thing any woman wants to deal with is an injury on top of pregnancy, after all.

Faster Recovery From Labor and Post-Pregnancy Wellness

Labor is a painful and intensive process that can take months for women to recover from. But evidence has shown that routine chiropractic adjustments throughout pregnancy can help the body to heal much more quickly than it otherwise might. It can also help new mothers maintain proper alignment post-labor, assisting in preventing injuries or pain when lifting, holding, and carrying their baby over extended periods.

Prenatal Chiropractic Care: Final Considerations

Prenatal chiropractic care is used to relieve pain while keeping the body and nervous system functioning as optimally as possible during pregnancy. There are many women out there who are needlessly suffering through the physical pains of pregnancy, but they don’t have to go through it alone, and there are ways to help reduce pain and discomfort in a natural, calming way. Take the time to meet with your obstetrician and talk with them about the potential benefits that prenatal chiropractic care can provide you with. You deserve to be able to enjoy the wonders of pregnancy and family planning without the potentially debilitating pain that so often comes along with it.

Are you looking for effective ways to help ensure that your pregnancy goes as smoothly as possible? Check out the services offered by Inner Gate today to learn why they are the top chiropractor service in Portland.

Katherine V.

March 9, 2023.

While recovering from injuries sustained from a car accident, I have seen a few different acupuncturists as well as a chiropractor and masseuse at Inner Gate, and I have appreciated them all. The care I've received has been stellar - compassionate, personable, considerate, and soothing. Truly, Inner Gate practitioners have greatly helped me in my healing process. Thank you!

Abbie W.

July 26, 2022.

I have been seeing Nick Maxwell for Craniosacral massage for the last several months after a car accident left me with whiplash, nagging low back pain, a mild concussion, and stress and anxiety. He is an incredibly gifted healer that has helped me immensely! I have had a plethora of bodywork over the years, and I can undoubtedly say that his massages are the best. He has also helped with digestive issues/SIBO/nervous system recovery. I would never see anyone else again after finding him. I am much calmer, happier, and healing well thanks in big part to his care.

Elizabeth M.

February 10, 2022.

Well, I will start by saying that Nicholas Maxwell is my favorite massage therapist. I went to him after 1 year of shoulder pain. Before going to him, I was waiting for the pain to just go away; it didn't. He was the first person I sought any help from. I'm sorry to say, I didn't expect that much relief from a massage but after about 3 sessions I felt close to cured of 1 whole year of pain! He recommended a great physical therapist to solve my shoulder stiffness and pain. My pt said that Nick did a great job of loosening up the muscles for a quicker recovery. Nick seemed to wipe out all the surface pain and extraneous tenderness so that my pt could pinpoint my injury which turned out to be shoulder tendonitis. Now I see both of them concurrently. They both gave the same estimate for recovery, which was shorter than I thought it would be. I've had more that 50 massages in my lifetime (CA, NY, NV), Nick is the only massage therapist I have been to that leaves me feeling better for days and days after the actual massage. If I could describe what Nick's massages feel like, it would be like this: If the ocean waves had massaging hands, they would be Nick's. Before going to Nick, I am a chuck steak. After my massage, I am filet mignon. What can I say, Nick Is Awesome!!

Julian J.

November 4, 2021.

My physical therapist suggested acupuncture for my chronic knee injury in July 2021. I'm going to explain my story, but I want to say at the beginning that Emma Ellsworth at Inner Gate Health & Wellness saved me from a life of chronic pain. It's really difficult and frustrating to find good care anywhere these days, so trust me when I tell you that you can end your search now. Just call Inner Gate and ask for Emma. I always find it helpful to read health care reviews from folks who suffer from the same issues as me, so here's a bit about my medical history: My orthopedic physician diagnosed me with IT band syndrome in my right knee in January 2021. I began a course of physical therapy, but not only did the IT band syndrome not get better, I actually developed IT band syndrome in my left leg due to overcompensation. I pushed myself a little too hard and started noticing that even very light exercise would cause my symptoms to flare up (inflammation, pain, swelling, etc.). By May 2021, I could not walk more than 3 blocks at a time without my knees flaring up. Keep in mind that I'm an otherwise healthy person in my mid-30s. I then developed hamstring tendinopathy in both legs, I assume to disuse. Along with preexisting patellofemoral pain syndrome issues, suffice to say that my knees were totally busted, okay. After all that, my physical therapist and orthopedic physician basically threw their hands up and suggested either cortisone shots for the rest of my life, acupuncture, or prescription pain medication that I really shouldn't be taking due to family history of hypertension. In comes Emma. I'm a huge believer in modern Western medicine and everything, but Emma succeeded where two physical therapists, a physiatrist, my orthopedic physician, and my primary care doctor all failed. Emma succeeded not only because she did something they did not - acupuncture - but she succeeded because she was more effective and patient at taking time to find the actual root cause of my issues. She is super methodical about interviewing me at the beginning of every session, evaluating what worked / didn't work from last time, trying out new areas for acupuncture, and over the course of 4 weeks eventually found an acupuncture solution that reduced my pain. I remember when it happened - I had an acupuncture session one Friday in October, and two days later I was going for a walk and ended up walking like 3 times further than I had walked in the past 6 months. I stopped and was like, "Wow my legs don't hurt at all." The pain literally vanished, went from a 5-6/10 on the pain scale all day every day down to 0-1. The massive pain reduction has allowed me to resume my physical therapy exercises with less pain and start rebuilding my knee strength. I still go to acupuncture to deal with some knee meniscus issues and overall wellness / mental health issues. Honestly, I feel such a tremendous sense of wellness after every acupuncture session that I kind of don't ever want to stop going. Anyway, if you made it this far, thanks for reading and hopefully my story is helpful. Seriously, go see the folks at Inner Gate. You won't regret it!!

Mitchell P.

October 19, 2021.

Inner Gate Health & Wellness provides exceptional care! Their staff, specifically Emma Ellsworth, is skillful, compassionate, and effective at providing holistic healing services, including acupuncture. I highly recommend treatment with Inner Gate and Emma Ellsworth for symptoms including depression, anxiety, pelvic floor pain, back pain, and digestion issues.

Ruben S.

April 15, 2021.

This is a long overdue, rave review for Terry. I've been to many acupuncturists over the last decade and she is hands down the most helpful and accommodating. I came in with a very unsolvable problem (tinnitus) and had tried everything before coming to Terry. Terry has helped improve my symptoms with Tinnitus and a number of other issues. She's also extremely patient and takes time out of every session at the beginning to go over progress and how I'm feeling. She has a good understanding of my problems and is always ready with solutions to help. Acupuncture with Terry is one of the highlights of my week -- thank you for being so great!!

Dr. Kaley B.

November 28, 2020.

Very impressed! Great acupuncture, well organized front desk. Liz is fantastic, and I'm not a fan of needles. Finally got some relief from back and neck pain. Looking forward to a few more sessions!

Abbie W.

September 15, 2020.

I highly recommend Oliver Leonetti at Innergate Acupuncture! I have seen him for the last 12 years for various ailments - ranging from nagging sports injuries to digestive issues to insomnia/anxiety, and he always provides the highest level of care that truly lasts. Not only is he extremely knowledgeable and skilled, but he is super kind and caring and always take the time to truly listen. I always feel better after leaving my appointment. I honestly do not know what I would do without Oliver or Innergate Acupuncture! Also, I've seen several of the acupuncturists there, and they are all fantastic as well.

M W.

July 9, 2020.

I can't recommend these guys enough! I have a 10 yr old competitive skier who was having some knee pain & had never had acupuncture done before...not only did these guys gently ease him into the entire process - they also helped him get back on the ski hill after the first couple of treatments I was super impressed with their professionalism & how both Liz and Casey approached his injury - now my little guy looks forward to going to his acupuncture appointments! Yay! Thank you a zillion times over for taking such good care of my little guy.

Abby J.

January 9, 2020.

I used to think acupuncture was sort of hokey. Not total witchcraft, but definitely not the magic, cure-all that people said. Well, folks, a few months in and I can report that I'm a changed woman! Well, really, it only took one session. Terry took my whole health history into consideration and helped with everything. Anxiety, sleeplessness, colds, ankle injuries, back pain--you name it. I've come in with problems and always left improved. I'm sure all the acupuncturists are lovely, but I want to stress how awesome Terry is. She takes my concerns seriously without making me feel like I'm at a stuffy doctors office. She approaches her work with humor and friendliness and is spot on with her treatment. Terry has made me feel comfortable from the get-go and has made my weekly appointments something for me to look forward to. My friends all have heard me rave about her, so I'd say everyone I know should go see her, but then I may never be able to squeeze in my appointments again! Just kidding, of course. Also, big props to the front desk staff too. They have been super kind and helpful when guiding me through insurance issues or unexpected after work traffic. I'd highly recommend Inner Gate SE to anyone with any ailment!

Prenatal Chiropractor: What Is It and Why Is It Good For You?