Pregnancy and Motherhood: How Chiropractic in Utah Can Help


In honor of Mother's Day, I'd like to offer some advice in particular to those pregnant Moms-To-Be.  Pregnancy should be a beautiful time as you contemplate the new life growing inside you as well as thinking about the positives of adding to your family.  However, many women are overwhelmed by the stresses of pregnancy, not only emotional but also physical. There are so many changes that occur in a pregnant woman's body that are meant to prepare an ideal environment for a developing fetus, and unfortunately, these same changes can be a challenge for the mother.

The physical changes can result in spinal and pelvis misalignment due to protruding abdomen and an increased back curve. When the pelvis is misaligned it may reduce the amount of room available for the baby, and may make it difficult for the baby to get into the best possible position for delivery.

According to the American Pregnancy Association, potential benefits of chiropractic care during pregnancy include:

• Maintaining a healthier pregnancy
• Controlling symptoms of nausea
• Reducing the time of labor and delivery
• Relieving back, neck or joint pain
• Prevent a potential cesarean delivery

Many pregnant women have found that chiropractic adjustments provide relief from the increased low-back pain brought on by pregnancy. Chiropractic manipulation is safe for the pregnant woman and her baby and can be especially attractive to those who are trying to avoid medications in treating their back pain.

Those who have had babies know that the labor process and giving birth is a traumatic event for the body. The impact that it has on the pelvis, spine, hips and muscles has been well documented. Chiropractic care can help. In the eight weeks following labor and delivery, the ligaments that loosened during pregnancy begin to tighten up again. Ideally, joint problems brought on during pregnancy from improper lifting or reaching should be treated before the ligaments return to their pre-pregnancy state to prevent muscle tension, headaches, rib discomfort, and shoulder problems.

If you have suffered through previous pregnancies without the benefit of chiropractic care or if this is your first time and wonder how you will handle all the physical changes and back pain, come in to see me at The Joint Cottonwood Heights in Salt Lake City, Utah. Let us work together to make you feel as well as you can for these joyous nine months!

~ Dr. Brad Hendricks

Is better brainpower another benefit of chiropractic treatment and exercise?

Can you boost brain power with physical activity? Several relevant studies were reported on at the annual Meeting of The Society of Psychophysiological Research in Montreal recently.


The findings showed both immediate benefits from physical activity, as well as long-term effects. Physical activity seems to help your brain work more efficiently and actually may make you smarter. In one study, the thinking ability of subjects was tested. After the tests, they ran on a treadmill for thirty minutes. Then, when their hearts returned to normal resting levels they took the follow-up tests. For all tests the subjects were connected to an electroencephalogram (EEG), in order to track their brainwaves. The first thing researchers noted was that exercising had sped up the speed of their decision-making. It was a significant difference. Upon scoring the tests, it was also found that the subjects answered more accurately after the exercise than before. The study participants were between 18 and 24 years old, but researchers think the findings will hold true for other age groups as well.

Utah residents have many great opportunities and venues for exercise that may help improve their mood and cognitive function. But if chronic pain or aching joints is stopping you from exercising, chiropractic treatment from one of our Salt Lake City locations may help get you back on track (or back in the gym, or back on the trail).

Another study showed that just ten minutes of moderate exercise each day can improve mood and reduce fatigue. Brainpower specifically wasn't tested, but it seems likely that less fatigue means better brain power.

The benefits of exercise include better sleep, a healthier immune system, weight control, and a lower risk of heart disease, cancer and diabetes. Now you can add better brain power to that list. If you are having difficulty exercising because you have aches and pains in your neck and back, come see us at The Joint Cottonwood Heights for chiropractic evaluation and treatments that can help relieve your pain so that you can get out and do some regular exercises.

~ Dr. Brad Hendricks

How Does Posture Affect Your Mood?

I've talked a lot about posture and health lately and that is because I see how important proper posture is for overall spine function in my Utah patients. Many aches and pains can be eliminated if you are able to practice good standing and sitting posture, and chiropractic is ideal for helping you straighten up. But a new study conducted by the American Psychological Association revealed that body posture also may be important to how we express emotions.

The experiment assigned participants to two groups, one who they forced to sit in a slouched and slumped position and one that they had sit upright with good posture. They had the participants complete a series of tasks and the upright participants reported higher self-esteem, more arousal, better mood, and lower fear, compared to slumped participants. Linguistic analysis showed slumped participants used more negative emotion words, first-person singular pronouns, affective process words, sadness words, and fewer positive emotion words and total words during the speech. The researchers concluded with this statement: “Adopting an upright seated posture in the face of stress can maintain self-esteem, reduce negative mood, and increase positive mood compared to a slumped posture. Furthermore, sitting upright increases rate of speech and reduces self-focus”.

So not only does good posture relieve physical symptoms, it may also affect your emotional health. If you find yourself sitting in a bad slouched position either at work or at home and you start to feel the strain in your back, take a break to reduce the stress. One of the most effective micro-break exercises is the Brugger's Relief Position developed by a European neurologist. Studies show it will help to reduce tension, improve breathing and improve posture within just a few weeks of practice.

Performing the Brugger's Relief Position:
If sitting:

1. Sit or perch at the edge of your chair. You should feel the "sit bones" just around where the top of your legs meet your butt cheeks.
2. Hold your head up high. Imagine a string fixed at the crown of your head pulling you toward the sky.
3. Spread your legs slightly apart to the sides
4. Turn your legs out slightly
5. Rest your weight on your legs and feet and relax your abdominal muscles
6. Tilt your pelvis forward and raise your breastbone up.
7. Turn your hands palms-up
8. Turn your arms slightly outward

Hold this position and take deep "belly" breaths for 10 seconds
Come in to The Joint Cottonwood Heights for a postural evaluation. Regular chiropractic adjustments at our Salt Lake City locations will help you maintain proper posture.

~ Dr. Brad Hendricks