Back pain during pregnancy is incredibly common: up to 70% of pregnant women experience it. That doesn't mean you have to live with it. At Van Every Family Chiropractic Center, we provide safe, gentle, drug-free relief for pregnancy-related back pain, adapted specifically for the needs of expectant mothers.
As your body changes, your center of gravity shifts forward, the hormone relaxin loosens your ligaments, and your growing baby adds real stress to your spine and pelvis. These changes often bring on lower back pain, sacroiliac joint pain, round ligament pain, and sciatica, sometimes all in the same week.
How Pregnancy Back Pain Shows Up
Pregnancy back pain rarely shows up the same way twice. Lower back pain is the most common complaint, driven by postural changes, added weight, and ligaments that are looser than usual. Sharp pain in the pelvis or buttocks often points to the sacroiliac joint, where increased mobility can throw alignment off, and that same shifting can compress nerves and send pain radiating down the leg as sciatica.
Round ligament pain shows up as a sharp, stabbing sensation low in the abdomen or groin as those ligaments stretch to support your growing uterus. Some women also feel it between the shoulders and through the rib cage as the thoracic spine accommodates breast changes and an expanding rib cage, or at the front of the pelvis where the pubic bones meet, often worse with walking or turning over in bed.
What's Actually Causing It
The driving cause behind most of this is the same: relaxin, a hormone your body produces during pregnancy to loosen the ligaments and joints of the pelvis in preparation for delivery. It doesn't work on the pelvis alone, it loosens ligaments throughout the spine too, which is part of why alignment that used to hold steady can shift more easily now.
Add in a forward shifting center of gravity, added weight up front, and abdominal muscles that stretch and lose some of their ability to support your low back, and it's easy to see why so many pregnant women end up dealing with some combination of these symptoms before delivery.
Our Approach
Most pain medications aren't recommended during pregnancy, which makes chiropractic care one of the safest ways to manage what you're feeling. We start with a thorough evaluation, including INSiGHT neurological scanning, to objectively check in on your nervous system and pinpoint where tension has built up from the physical changes of pregnancy, so your care plan reflects what your body is actually dealing with rather than a guess.
Using Koren Specific Technique (KST) and Talsky Tonal Chiropractic (TTC), our doctors use light, nervous system focused contacts: no cracking, no twisting, no lying face down. We use comfortable side lying, seated, or semi reclined positioning that accommodates your belly at any stage of pregnancy, and many patients feel relief from their very first visit.
Support for Labor and Delivery
Proper pelvic alignment creates more room for baby to settle into position, and many patients who receive care throughout pregnancy report shorter, more comfortable labor.
Webster certified care is available for patients who want extra attention on pelvic balance later in pregnancy. It works by easing tension on the ligaments that support the uterus and balancing the pelvis itself, giving baby more room to move into a head down position before delivery, which can help reduce the likelihood of a breech presentation.
This kind of pelvic work fits naturally alongside the rest of your prenatal visits, so there's nothing extra to schedule as your due date gets closer.
What Our Patients Often Report
A significant reduction in lower back and pelvic pain, better sleep, an easier time finding a comfortable position, and less sciatica and leg pain.
Improved mobility, a noticeably more comfortable third trimester, shorter and more comfortable labor for many patients who received care throughout pregnancy, and faster postpartum recovery once baby arrives.
Take the First Step
Don't suffer through pregnancy back pain. Schedule a gentle evaluation with our doctors in Royal Oak.
Common Questions
Is chiropractic safe during pregnancy?
When should I start chiropractic care during pregnancy?
How often should I come in during pregnancy?
Will I need to lie face down?
Can chiropractic help turn a breech baby?
Does insurance cover prenatal chiropractic?
Related: Webster Technique · Round Ligament & SPD Pain · Postpartum Recovery · Back & Neck Pain · Sciatica
