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Pregnancy Pain in the Pubic Bone. Portland, Maine

April 9, 2023

The pubic symphysis is circled beneath, while the two sacroiliac joints are circled on the top. Abnormal position or movement of any of these, will lead to problems in the other joints.

Pubic Bone Pain During Pregnancy Symphysis pubis pain (SPD), also known as pelvic girdle pain, or pubic bone pain, is a common condition during pregnancy that causes pain in the pubic area and sometimes radiates to the thighs and lower back. It is caused by the stretching and loosening of the ligaments that support the pelvic bones, which can lead to instability and pain. Chiropractic care can be a helpful treatment option for pregnant women with SPD. Chiropractors are trained to diagnose and treat neuromusculoskeletal conditions, and they use a variety of techniques to help alleviate pain and improve joint function. During pregnancy, perinatal chiropractors may use gentle spinal adjustments or other techniques to help restore proper alignment and relieve pressure on the pelvic joints, which helps to reduce inflammation in the pubic bone. They may also recommend exercises or stretches to help strengthen the muscles that support the pelvic area and improve overall posture (see video below). It’s important to note that not all chiropractic techniques are safe for pregnant women, so it’s important to seek out a chiropractor who has experience working with pregnant patients and who understands the unique needs and concerns of pregnant women. Like...

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Concerns about Labor and Delivery?

January 26, 2021

Concerned about labor and delivery in Southern Maine? Call Dr. Lou, board certified pregnancy chiropractor. (207) 774-6251. Portland, Maine. Plenty of parking, 24/7 doctor access. Too good to be true? You don't know Dr. Lou!

What is your greatest concern about labor and delivery? Is it having a natural birth or c-section? Is it pain? Hoping for a VBAC? Birthing at home? We may be able to help you prepare for labor and delivery. Chiropractic care during pregnancy by a board certified perinatal specialist may make your labor and delivery smoother and more predictable. Mounting evidence shows that beyond pain relief, chiropractic care during pregnancy may reduce your risk of a c-section, may reduce your need for medications, and may reduce the likelihood of complications due to pelvic misalignment. All of these would make a home birth less complicated and will take you closer to your goal of a Safe and natural birth with a healthy baby! You have concerns and we have the knowledge to first ease your concerns, then take safe, non invasive chiropractic care to the table to attempt to lower your risk of unwanted issues during pregnancy, labor, and delivery. Dr. Lou was awarded board certification after completing advanced training and examinations to work as a specialist with children and moms before, during and after pregnancy. This board certification was awarded by the Academy Council of Chiropractic Pediatrics and The International...

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Pregnant during COVID-19 times. DO THESE THINGS!

August 24, 2020

Pregnant during COVID-19. 3 things to avoid/do.

The last place you want to be during pregnancy is in a facility that cares for sick people. According to a study published in MMWR, pregnant women with COVIID-19 are more likely to be hospitalized and are at increased risk of admission to the ICU for mechanical ventilation, than non-pregnant women. The moral of the story? Don’t get COVID-19 while pregnant. When you are pregnant, you are not only caring for yourself and your family but for the baby on the way. The consequence of COVID-19 on pregnancy is not yet fully understood.   Maybe your kids are back in school and run the risk of bringing home COVID? CDC Back To School Decision Making Help For Parents and Guardians. How do you limit your risk of contracting COVID-19 while pregnant? It’s nothing you haven’t heard before. PROBIOTIC – Supplement with probiotics. They help build your immune system. MASK UP – Always wear a mask in public. AVOID SICK CLINICS – Unless unavoidable, avoid clinics that see sick people. If your back hurts, before going to the ER, Urgent Care, or Convenient MD, consider going to a chiropractic office with a controlled environment, that doesn’t work with sick people. What are...

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Pubic Bone Pain During Pregnancy. Causes, Implications & Solutions.

October 26, 2019

There is always a cause for pubic bone pain during pregnancy. Let us find the cause and correct it. You'll feel better and have an "easier" pregnancy, labor, and delivery.

What pubic bone pain represents, is much more than just discomfort. Symphysis pubis dysfunction (SPD), or pubic bone pain is a common cause of suffering during pregnancy. Your pubic bone is actually made up of 2 pelvic bones and a piece of cartilage. The two bones meet in the middle with the cartilage in-between, and this forms the “pubic bone” or symphysis pubis, in the front of your pelvis. The same pubic bones that meet to make the pubic bone, also meet at the sacrum in the back of your pelvis, where they form what is called the Sacro-iliac joints (SIJ). So what causes SPD?  One of the most common causes is misalignment (subluxation)and pubic bone pain is in the sacroiliac joints, or the pubic bone itself. Because of pelvic bone involvement, they are essentially inseparable. If you imagine subluxation of the sacroiliac joints (top two circles in the image above), would medication realign these joints? Would medication realign the pubic bone? The answer is NO to both. Would massage realign the joints? Unlikely. Pubic bone pain always has a cause. When the cause is subluxation, it must be corrected by a specialist in pregnancy (perinatal) chiropractic. As the pregnancy progresses,...

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Will Your Stress During Pregnancy Affect The Gender Of Your Baby?

Mental and physical stress may contribute to the gender of the baby.

Stress During Pregnancy Affects More Than You May Think. A study recently performed at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City, showed that mothers with high stress during pregnancy, either physically or mentally, were more likely to have girls.  They were also more likely to have premature babies. (LINK TO REPORT) While this is a preliminary study, it raises important questions. 1. If stress during pregnancy can affect gender, what else does it change on a genetic level. 2. If stress affects gender, how seriously does it impact the mother’s body chemistry? 3. We know that mental stress causes tension in the neck, head, shoulders, low back and pelvis. Pelvic tension leads to breech presentation. How does stress impact breech presentation? 4. If stress during pregnancy affects gender, how does it impact fetal brain chemistry, growth and development. 5. We know that fetal development of the stress response begins at around 5 weeks. How does maternal stress impact fetal stress at the level of the brain? All breakdown, all derangement of function comes from stress. Stress during pregnancy can be classified under three types: Physical, Mental & Chemical. Pregnancy is the one time in a woman’s life where she generally really wants...

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Worried about your child’s future with ADD, ADHD, SPD, or ASD?

June 19, 2019

Follow the link to access the e-report and a sensory processing disorder questionnaire for you to fill out and have reviewed by Dr. Lou for free.

CREATING A SAFER, MORE CERTAIN FUTURE FOR YOUR CHILD WITH ADD, ADHD, AUTISM OR SENSORY PROCESSING DISORDER. The number one concern among parents with child who has processing disorders, is their future. What will happen when they, the parents, are gone. Will the child be able to care for themselves? How much will need to have been saved for their care? Who will take care of them? How will they manage in their current state, but as an adult? It is these fears that drive parents to do everything they can to help their children reconnect, adapt and thrive, even if only a little bit. Sometimes the little bit is the difference between independence, relative independence or none at all. If you, the parent, can’t sleep at night because of worry for your child’s future, but you feel like you have tried everything, it may be time to look at the science from a different perspective.  CLICK HERE TO SLEEP BETTER AT NIGHT! I would like to think, based on conversations with parents, that even a 1-5% improvement in a child’s function would make the child’s life dramatically better, and the parent’s worry decrease a bit. It’s hard enough...

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Does Back Pain During Pregnancy Lead To A C-Section?

January 16, 2019

Back pain during pregnancy may be a precursor to c-section.

Reduce your potential risk of an emergency c-section. Pain is your body’s way of alerting you of a problem. Some problems make labor and delivery even more difficult, which in turn leads to “fetal distress” at which point the doctor will order a c-section so that your baby is not “damaged.” Pelvis and low back pain, like all other warning signs, have causes. Some of these causes lead to dystocia, or difficult labor and delivery.  “Dystocia” or abnormal progress in labor is a common problem that is being looked at more closely as the incidence of C-Sections at some hospitals in the United States approaches 100%. Dystocia is also loosely defined as failure to progress during labor, lack of progressive cervical dilation or lack of fetal descent.  Before we look at the three most common causes of dystocia, lear about CPD and “abnormal progress”, both of which are common reasons that doctors give for the need for c-section. In many circles, CPD and “abnormal progress” are not legitimate reasons to have a c-section, ultimately it’s the parents’ call. Cephalopelvic distortion (CPD) is often blamed for dystocia and the need for a c-cection. CPD is a situation where the baby’s...

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Up at 2 a.m. for your kids? Supermoms sometimes often at night.

January 7, 2019

We have experience helping parents sleep again...at no expense to your child. (207) 774-6251

2 a.m. mom’s know who they are. ARE YOU A “2 a.m. MOM?” A 2 a.m. mom is one who is up at 2 a.m. because of a child. If you are reading this, you are a great parent. You may be up worrying or you may be up because the child is up and needs you. Either way, at some point during the night, your stress is heightened and your worry soars. Your mind races, longs for answers, you want to sleep but your child is more important than rest. If nothing else is certain about Sensory processing disorders, ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and the rest of the growing neurological disorders in children, one thing is for sure. They have strong and undeniable neurological components. The question is, what is the rest of the equation? What caused the nervous system to change? In an article published in the journal “Frontiers In Integrative Neuroscience,” in 2009, findings point to a host of potential contributors to Sensory Processing Disorders (SPD) and children with both ASD and SPD. Many studies have shown that there may multiple causes, making the hunt for a single cause, all that more elusive. Many of...

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Colic Solution: Baby Bowen Technique

April 25, 2017

Colic? If your baby has colic, Dr. Lou has a potential solution. The Baby Bowen Technique is regularly used at Perinatal and Pediatric Chiropractic of Maine for colic relief. Call Dr. Lou at (207) 774-6251 for immediate attention!

Is your baby suffering from Colic? The exact cause of colic is still considered unknown, probably due to multiple factors contributing to the problem. Most sources suggest the following may be involved: Diaphragmatic tension Nerve irritation Abdominal tension Gas Reflux & Indigestion Back spasm The Baby Bowen Technique has been used safely and effectively for years by healthcare professionals and parents around the world. “Baby Bowen” addresses the issues listed above in a way that is tolerated by infants easily. It is quick and often results in immediate resolution of infantile colic. Below is a tutorial on how it is performed. If you are not comfortable performing this technique on your own, or if it doesn’t seem to be working, you should call us and we can help. The technique is extremely gentle. It is extremely efficient (takes only 3-5 minutes). Everyone feels better when your baby feels better! Dr. Lou is a perinatal and pediatric chiropractic specialist in Portland, Maine. He has used “baby bowen” for years and has an incredible success rate. For more information and videos, visit us on YOUTUBE. We also encourage you to have a look at our GOOGLE REVIEWS. ...

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Sciatica Pain During Pregnancy

March 10, 2017

Sciatica pain during pregnancy is fairly common. Evaluation and correction of issues leading to sciatic pain is the job of the perinatal chiropractic specialist. Dr. Lou Jacobs, is that specialist and will prioritize your first visit to get you in as soon as possible. For the fastest service, Call Perinatal & Pediatric Chiropractic of Maine at (207) 553-7776 today!

Sciatica Pain During Pregnancy. Immediate help available! The pain down the back of the leg that seems to start in your low back or glutes could be sciatica. During pregnancy the changes in pelvic and low back positioning can lead to pressure on nerves in the low back. The lower lumbar spinal nerves form the sciatic nerve. If your lumbar spine misaligns, if you have a bulging or herniated disc or have pressure of any kind on those nerves, you may feel sciatica pain. Sometimes, sciatica isn’t “real” sciatica. During pregnancy the muscles of your legs and glutes work extra hard. They get tight. If that tension, in the muscle, causes inflammation or pressure enough to compress the sciatic nerve underneath the piriformis muscle, you may have what’s called “piriformis syndrome.” Piriformis syndrome is much less serious than true sciatica pain coming from the low back, and it is often easily managed so that you are no longer suffering with leg and glute pain. Piriformis syndrome can be helped with trigger point therapy, perinatal chiropractic care and perinatal massage.  Stretching and use of a Theracane at home is also very helpful. For a true sciatica, coming from the lumbar spine, perinatal...

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