Chiropractic Care During Pregnancy: Is It Safe, and How Can It Help?

Quick answer: chiropractic care during pregnancy is generally considered safe when it’s adapted for pregnancy, and it can help with the low back, pelvic and sciatica-type pain that affects more than half of pregnant women. The research is still limited but encouraging: most pregnant patients with back and pelvic pain improve with care, and serious side effects are rare. It works best alongside the right home exercises. Let your OB or midwife know you’re coming, and check with them first if you have any of the warning signs listed below.

Sound familiar?

• Rolling over in bed has turned into a three-step process, and it still hurts.
• A sharp, stabbing pain in one side of your butt when you get out of the car or climb stairs.
• Pain right at the front of your pelvis, over the pubic bone, when you walk or stand on one leg to get dressed.
• An ache that runs down the back of your leg when you sit at your desk too long.
• Your low back is fine in the morning and wrecked by dinner.
• A sore spot under your ribs as the baby grows and runs out of room.

None of that means something is wrong with your pregnancy. It’s your body adapting, fast, to carry a baby. But “it’s just pregnancy” doesn’t mean you have to grit your teeth through it either.

Why pregnancy makes your back and pelvis hurt

A few things change at once, and they all land on the same joints.

• Your ligaments loosen. Pregnancy hormones, including relaxin, soften the ligaments so your pelvis can open for birth. That makes the joints of the pelvis less stable, especially the sacroiliac (SI) joints at the back and the pubic joint at the front.
• Your center of gravity moves forward. As your belly grows, your low back arches more to keep you balanced, which loads the small joints and muscles of the low back.
• Your core is stretched. The abdominal muscles that normally help support your spine are being stretched out of the way, so your back muscles pick up the slack.
• You’re carrying more weight, often while still lifting a toddler, groceries or a laptop bag on one side.

That’s why pregnancy pain tends to fall into two groups. Pregnancy low back pain sits above the belt line and feels like a typical back ache. Pelvic girdle pain sits lower, at the dimples at the back of the pelvis or over the pubic bone at the front, and is usually worse with walking, stairs, rolling in bed and standing on one leg. Plenty of women have both. They’re treated a little differently, so it helps to know which one you’re dealing with.

Is chiropractic safe during pregnancy?

For an uncomplicated pregnancy, the research says yes, when the care is adapted. Studies and reviews of pregnant patients receiving chiropractic and other manual therapy report side effects as uncommon and mostly minor, like short-lived soreness. Serious problems are rare.

Adapted is the key word. Pregnancy-adapted care means no pressure on your belly, gentler force, positions that keep you comfortable as your belly grows, and avoiding lying flat on your back for long stretches later in pregnancy, which can make some women lightheaded. It also means respecting the fact that your ligaments are looser than usual, so the goal is to restore comfortable movement, not to push joints that are already moving plenty.

What the research says

Back and pelvic pain in pregnancy is very common, and for some women it doesn’t simply disappear after delivery, so it’s worth taking seriously rather than waiting it out.

The strongest evidence is for exercise. Staying active and doing the right strengthening and mobility work reduces pregnancy back and pelvic pain. Manual therapy, including chiropractic adjustments and soft tissue work, has smaller and lower-quality studies behind it, but the results point the same way: most pregnant patients with low back and pelvic pain report meaningful improvement, often within the first few weeks. The combination, hands-on care to calm things down plus a few targeted exercises to keep it that way, is where I think the evidence lands best.

One honest limit: you’ll see claims online that chiropractic shortens labor or turns breech babies. The evidence for those claims is weak, and I don’t make them. What chiropractic care can realistically do is help you move and sleep with less pain while you’re pregnant.

What you can do at home

• Sleep on your side with a pillow between your knees, and another under your belly if it helps. It keeps your pelvis level overnight.
• Keep your knees together for the asymmetrical stuff. Swing both legs out of the car together, roll over in bed with your knees together, and sit down to put on pants and shoes.
• Take smaller steps on stairs, one step at a time if your pelvis is sore.
• Keep walking. Moving usually helps more than resting, as long as it isn’t making the pain sharper.
• Do the right exercises for your pattern. My pregnancy stretches and exercises page has the moves I give pregnant patients, with what to avoid.

When to call your OB or midwife first

Most pregnancy aches are muscles and joints. These are not, and they need your OB, your midwife or urgent care before anything else:

• Vaginal bleeding, fluid leaking, or regular contractions before 37 weeks
• Back pain that comes and goes in waves, or a tightening across the belly
• A severe or sudden headache, vision changes, or sudden swelling of the face and hands
• Pain, redness or swelling in one calf
• Fever, burning when you pee, or pain on one side of the mid back near the kidney
• New numbness or weakness in a leg, or numbness in the saddle area
• Noticeably less movement from the baby

Common questions

Is it safe to see a chiropractor while pregnant?
For an uncomplicated pregnancy, yes, when the care is adapted for pregnancy: no pressure on the belly, gentler force and comfortable positioning. Studies report side effects as uncommon and mostly minor. Let your OB or midwife know, and get their go-ahead first if your pregnancy is high-risk.

Can a chiropractor help with back pain during pregnancy?
Often, yes. Research on pregnant patients with low back and pelvic pain shows most improve with chiropractic care, and the best results come from combining hands-on care with a few targeted exercises.

Can a chiropractor help with sciatica during pregnancy?
Many cases of leg pain in pregnancy come from the SI joints, the low back or the muscles around the hips rather than a disc, and those usually respond well to gentle chiropractic care and exercise. New numbness or weakness in the leg should be checked by your OB first.

What is pelvic girdle pain in pregnancy?
Pelvic girdle pain is pain at the back of the pelvis near the dimples, or over the pubic bone at the front. It is usually worse with walking, stairs, rolling in bed and standing on one leg, and it is different from typical low back pain.

When should you not see a chiropractor during pregnancy?
Check with your OB or midwife first if you have vaginal bleeding, leaking fluid, contractions before 37 weeks, a severe headache or sudden swelling, placenta previa, preeclampsia, or any high-risk pregnancy.

Does chiropractic care turn a breech baby or shorten labor?
The evidence for those claims is weak. What chiropractic care can realistically do during pregnancy is reduce back and pelvic pain so you can move and sleep more comfortably.

Pregnant and hurting? Call (858) 558-3111 or book online at my UTC San Diego office, open Sundays. In the meantime, start with the pregnancy stretches and exercises.