Scoliosis and Pregnancy
Scoliosis is a misaligned curvature of the spine. The shoulders or hips may be uneven. Most births aren’t affected in a noticeable way by scoliosis. It doesn’t affect fertility or length of gestation. If the lower spine curves dramatically into the path of the baby, the baby may not be able to enter the pelvis. This is rare and fairly obvious to the bodyworker or doctor. If they don’t know whether scoliosis will affect the baby’s entrance or path through the labor, then I would expect the baby to find their way and continue with labor as planned. Having any amount of labor gives benefits to the healthy baby.
Back or pelvic pain sometimes increases in late pregnancy. Relief is possible with body work including self-care, Chiropractic, Osteopathic, FasciaTherapie (Methode Danis Bois), and Ortho-Bionomy. Acupuncture is worthwhile. And of course, our collection, The Fantastic Four.
Most pregnant people avoid or ease back, and pelvis pain with our daily activities list. Alternatively, our Daily Essentials download and streaming video is fun to play while you stretch and learn. Both can prevent or ease most pregnancy discomforts when done daily.
In Birth
Most cases of scoliosis do not restrict the movements of the baby into and through the pelvis. Metal rods may restrict your body’s natural shifts to let baby through, however. Placement of the rods and the results in joints and fascia will vary and so will how they affect birth.
Severe cases may prevent baby from fitting into the pelvis. This is rare.
Scoliosis can increase difficulty when placing the epidural anesthesia needle into the membrane “sleeve” surrounding the spine (the epidural space). The attempt may have to be repeated. Spinal fusion can make epidural placement more difficult, also.
Cause
The cause can be explained as “running in the family” but is not hereditary. This could mean family patterns of movement or constraint may theoretically be passed on affecting the spine, even from utero. Some scoliosis is caused by cerebral palsy or other conditions. Liz Koch points to the psoas muscles and offers insights to resolution, see next.
Cure
Liz Koch, created coreawareness.com to educate people about the results of a short or tight psoas muscle pair. She cured her own scoliosis with her excellent program.
“As messenger of the mid-line, the supple, dynamic Psoas speaks of our arrival here on earth. Inspired by galaxies, shaped by oceanic currents, made from soil, we are creatures of vastness that emerge within and travel through a women’s body to land upon the earth.”
—Liz Koch
From A Reader
“Hello … I’m 14 weeks pregnant. I have scoliosis and see a Chiropractor to help manage that. I’m very interested in buying the Daily Essentials video but before I do, I wanted to make sure that those stretches/exercises are safe for someone with scoliosis. I imagine that it could be helpful for my body to make as much room as possible for the baby. I want to know if any of your past clients have had a similar health concern. I look forward to hearing from you and I’ve heard amazing things about your programs. Thank you for your time…”
Gail Replies
Whether exercise might aggravate your scoliosis is a question for your Chiropractor or doctor. I don’t know of any reason our gentle stretches wouldn’t be safe and my not knowing is precisely why it is wise for you to check with the Chiropractor who sees your x-ray or has examined your spine. You also ask if these exercises will be effective. There is a wide range of scoliosis. There is a matching range of results from using our approach. You can improve your chance even more.
I suggest checking out Liz Koch of Core Awareness™ who cured her own scoliosis by developing a psoas resolution approach. She has some info for pregnancy that I recommend.
In addition to Liz Koch’s excellent approach, I’ve collected four body balancing techniques called The Fantastic Four, three of which are from Dr. Carol Phillips, DC. Use these four techniques in pregnancy and try in labor for comfort and or progress.
Have a transformative pregnancy!
Gail Tully
References:
Scoliosis and Pregnancy: Common Questions and Answers – clear-institute.org
Core Awareness™ – coreawareness.com
Epidural case study – ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Scoliosis and Pregnancy: What You Need to Know – treatingscoliosis.com
Helpful Links: