Back Pain in Pregnancy

Are you having back pain in your pregnancy? You have probably been told that that is a normal part of pregnancy and that you should just try to deal with it the best you can. Obviously with your body changing as much as it has been it is experiencing different stresses than it has before. That does not mean that you have to suffer through it or that you have to take medications that may effect the health of your baby. Here are some simple things that you can do to try to relieve the pain naturally. By the way it is a good idea to start practicing now, since the stress on your back doesn't usually just go away when you start carrying your baby on the outside.

1. Stay active: Always consult about exercise with you health care provider. If you were exercising before pregnancy, continue. If you were not, try to do some short walks while focusing on you posture. Keep the buttocks tucked in and the shoulders back and down as you walk. This helps to train the muscles to hold you in that position. If you have access a pool can be a great option for prenatal exercise.
2. When you are sitting don't cross your legs, slightly elevate your feet and change positions often. Watch your posture here also. Keep your shoulders back and your chin tucked in so that your head is over you shoulders. Also try to get up and move around about every 15-20 minutes, even if it is to just walk around you chair and sit back down. This will keep the muscles active.
3. When you sleep, sleep on your side with your knees bent and a pillow between them. This takes some pressure off of you low back. Also try using another pillow or a body pillow to rest your arm on to prevent twisting of the spine.
4. Limit what you lift. This one is much easier said than do usually, but if you do have to lift something squat with your legs instead of bending at your waist. If you have to hold a small child, do what you can to avoid lifting them up. Allow them to climb on a chair (if it is safe for them to do so) and the take them into your arms.
5. If the pain that you are feeling is a sharp, hot, acute pain try icing it for 15-20 minutes (with a thin towel between the ice pack and your skin). If the pain is more of a dull ache try a hot water bottle or a warm bath. If you are not sure how to describe the pain, err on the side of icing it.
6. Many moms-to-be find benefit with massage therapists that specialize in caring for pregnant moms.
7. Support belts can be helpful in certain situations, but I would recommend them as a last resort and only under supervision of your prenatal health care provider.
8. If you are still experiencing back pain after trying a few of these suggestions, consider contacting us for a free consultation, if you are in the Twin Cities area. If you are not please contact the ICPA for help in locating a chiropractor in your area that cares for mothers during pregnancy.

What are Essential Fatty acids?

Not the flashiest title I know, but I think you will be happy that you took the time to find out, it may change your life, or the life of your child.

Many of you may have heard of Essential Fatty Acids (or EFA's from now on) and the potential benefit that they can have on overall health. What are they though? Basically a fatty acid is a molecule that is used by the body for a multitude of functions and in every cell of the body. They are considered "essential" because our body is not able to produce them so we need to get them from our diets.


Some of the areas that our bodies uses EFA's are the heart, the brain, the immune system and the skin. There are many more but those are some of the big ones that you may have heard about in the news or advertisements.

There are only two true families of EFA's: Omega-3 and Omega-6. The name has to do with where a certain chemical bond is located in the molecule. Sources for Omega-3 fatty acids are primarily from cold water oily fish such as salmon, herring, mackerel, anchovies and sardines, but there is also a significant amount in flaxseed oil. Omega-6 can be found in chicken, eggs, soybean oil, canola oil and whole grains. As you can probably see Omega-6 are much easier to get than Omega-3. This has lead to potential imbalances for some people. I will address that issue in a later blog.

Sawyer Sage Mairs

I want to take a moment to introduce you to the newest member of our family. Sawyer Sage Mairs was born 5.6.2010 at our home. Thank you to Dr. Amy Johnson-Grass and her wonderful staff for assisting with the birth and caring for mom and baby (and dad).

Definition of the Webster Technique

Below is the official definition of what the Webster Chiropratic Technique is (from the ICPA website):

Chiropractic care benefits all aspects of your body's ability to be healthy. This is accomplished by working with the nervous system--the communication system between your brain and body. Doctors of Chiropractic work to correct spinal, pelvic and cranial misalignments (subluxations). When misaligned, these structures create an imbalance in surrounding muscles and ligaments. Additionally, the resulting nerve system stress may affect the body's ability to function optimally.
Sacral misalignment causes the tightening and torsion of specific pelvic muscles and ligaments. It is these tense muscles and ligaments and their constraining effect on the uterus which prevents the baby from comfortably assuming the best possible position for birth. The Webster Technique is defined as a specific chiropractic analysis and adjustment that reduces interference to the nerve system and facilitates biomechanical balance in pelvic structures, muscles and ligaments. This has been shown to reduce the effects of intrauterine constraint, allowing the baby to get into the best possible position for birth.
Dr. Larry Webster, Founder of the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association discovered this technique as a safe means to restore proper pelvic balance and function for pregnant mothers. In expectant mothers presenting breech, there has been a high reported success rate of the baby turning to the normal vertex position. This technique has been successfully used in women whose babies present transverse and posterior as well. It has also successfully used with twins. Any position of the baby other than ROA may indicate the presence of sacral subluxation and therefore intrauterine constraint. At no time should this technique be interpreted as an obstetric, "breech turning" technique.
It is strongly recommended by the ICPA instructors of this technique that this specific analysis and adjustment of the sacrum be used throughout pregnancy, to detect imbalance and optimize pelvic biomechanics in preparation for safer, easier births. Because of the effect the chiropractic adjustment has on all body functions by reducing nerve system stress, pregnant mothers should have their spines checked regularly throughout pregnancy, optimizing health benefits for both the mother and baby.
The International Chiropractic Pediatric Association offers classes of instruction and issues its qualified attendees a Certificate of Proficiency in the Webster Technique. Only those doctors on our site maintain recognized certification status with the ICPA.

Food Coloring and ADHD?

Since the early 70's there has been a suspected link between artificial food coloring and the inability for children to concentrate. In 2005, Americans consumed 18.7 million pounds of artificial food dye. That is almost triple the 6.4 million pounds consumed in 1985. The more processing that we subject our food to the further it gets from the natural form that God designed for to give us nutrients. As an example, instead of eating fish that gives us essential fats to provide a healthy immune system and healthy brain tissue, it is chopped up and the healthy parts are either removed or destroyed by cooking it in high heat. Now instead of improving the health of the brain, we have fed the body altered fats that actually cause damage to the sensitive brain tissue.

Nutrition has been a much talked about topic in the popular media, but often that is all that it is "talk". I will attempt to take a look at some practical and maybe sometimes radical changes that your family can do to improve the health of every member.


To read an article on the topic of food coloring additives from the ICPA go here.