Ogden Prenatal Chiropractor

The gift of pregnancy is such an amazing miracle and a great experience unlike any other. With all the great memories and mile stones throughout a pregnancy there are also the harder parts to being pregnant. Pregnancy can be strenuous on the female body as many of you may know. Pregnancy brings things like hormones and mood swings and stretch marks and to top it off none of your clothes fit you anymore. Now obviously with the added weight of your body and the extended belly there are going to more than just the visual changes to your body. When you gain weight pregnant or not your body undergoes a change in the way it now needs to carry itself. If the proper muscles are not being strengthened to carry the extra weight then your body will adjust however it may put strain on your back causing it to move out of place. Now as you know while you are pregnant not only is your body gaining weight but most of that weight is in your stomach which causes an almost pulling effect on your lower back. One of the most common complaints from pregnant women more specifically pregnant women in their third trimester is lower back pain.

The constant strain that is put on your body during the course of your pregnancy can be helped and the pain can be reduced by the work of chiropractic adjustments. Headaches are another bothersome pain in your neck and head that can be caused by the changes going on in your body during pregnancy. A full back and neck chiropractic adjustment will help tremendously with headaches caused by stress and strain to your body. as a Mom there is so much stress put on to do what is best for the baby that we sometimes forget that the best thing for the baby is making sure the mom is being taken care of fully.

Stretching is something you can do at home to help you feel better and take off some of the strain your bady is in during pregnancy. Here are five of the best easy stretches you can do at home to help your body stretch out and relax while you are pregnant.

The first one is stretching your entire back and reliving the tension that is built up in your back, shoulders and neck. In a door jam or on a pole of some sort grab each side with your palms facing each other. With your feet just wider than the width of your shoulders, with your knees slightly bent. You should be far enough back that you need to lean into the wall but your back should be slanted into the wall at an angle, not vertical nor horizontal. Find the lean in that you are comfortable with. In this position take deep breath in as you extend your back, arms and shoulders with each breath try to stretch out a bit more. Return to the starting position after 5 breaths and repeat!
This second pregnancy stretch is also great if you can utilize a door jam or pool again as well so if you just did the first stretch then you are already in position for this next one. Now start standing sideways next to the wall or door jam. With your left side next to the wall take your right leg and step it in front of and across your body so that you are standing cross-legged. Now lift your right or outside arm up and over your head to tough the wall. You should feel this stretch in your side and lower back, maybe even a bit in your leg and belly.
As much as it may be needed to stretch out the hamstrings it is not very easy to always bend over and touch your tows to get that deep stretch in your hamstrings. This may even sound more simple than you think it is going to be. Now I always recommend finding a seat on the floor next to something you can use to help yourself up or you can do this stretch on the bed or on a couch. Wherever you decided to sit you will want to start by touching your thumbs together and reach up up up as far and you can to extend the back straight up, then slowly lean forward dropping your arms towards your feet but keeping the same form of a straight back. This will help to keep from adding strain to your back while doing this stretch. You should feel the back of your thighs being stretched. You can now isolate each led and get a bit of a deeper stretch. Sit back up and bend one leg in and out so that you are doing half of a butterfly sit. Then with the same motion thumbs together and stretch up up, up and then bend towards your toe. You can relax your elbows on the ground if you are able to get that low, but keep your back straight! If y ou need help to get a deeper stretch you can use a towel or something similar to place around the foot of the straight leg or the feet if both legs are straight. Grabbing the end of each side of the towel you can pull yourself into a deeper stretch. Stretching out the hamstrings can help to eliminate the lover back pain you may be feeling along with the tightness in your legs from the extra weight.
Stretching your calves is another bid part of making sure you are stretching out your whole body. You may not think that you calves are get much of the brunt of the weight and tension from your body bit they are. The best way to stretch out your calves is going to be on a step or a curb. This stretch is preferably done where you have something you can hold onto for balance. This one is very simple however there are three parts to it to make sure you are getting all parts of your calve muscle stretched out. Place your toes on the step with your heal hanging over the edge and allow your heals to drop until you feel a good stretch in your calves. Repeat this three times for at least ten seconds in three directions. Toes forward, toes pointed in and toes pointed out.

And the finally the stretch to finish out the stretching for your entire body is the chest stretch. This one again is best if you can use a door way or two walls if they are close enough, but I promise the doorway will be your best option. Stand right in the doorway and with your arms out and elbows bent please your hands on the wall of each side then lean forward or take a step forward this will stretch out your chest. The cool part about stretching out your chest is it will relieve your upper back and neck strain. When your chest is stretched out your back and neck muscles no longer need to pull or fight against the tight chest muscles. This allows those muscles to be able to relax a bit.
We hope that these stretches will help you relieve the stress and tension in your muscles and your body between massages and chiropractic adjustments here at the Ogden Chiropractic office. Remember if there is any sharp ar shooting pains please call and we will get you in as soon as possible even if we need to get you in on our lunch. Staying healthy and relaxes is just as good for you as it is for your baby! If you have never been in before please check out our special chiropractic coupon and get your full exam and adjustment for only $20.