Expert: John Quackenbush DC - 11/11/2009

Question
For over a year now I've been having low back pain.  Mostly when I sit down for a long time.  Over the year it seems to get a lot better and then all of a sudden it'd get worse again.  I'd exercise and stretch until it would start getting better again.  It never gets all the way better.  I've seen a few chiropractors but can't quite afford it right now. One of them told me my left hip was tilted forward a little bit.

About three months ago it was getting a lot better again.  A few weeks later I found out I was pregnant.  6 weeks later my back got really bad. The upper part of my body wasn't aligned with the lower part of my body. Laying down, sitting, and walking were all painful. I went to a chiropractor and he straightened me out but it was still really painful. I believe my nerve was being pinched and my leg would go numb whenever I moved it.  Two weeks later I had a miscarriage.  A week after the miscarriage my back was almost completely better again.  Could the pregnancy have caused my back to go way out or could my back have caused the miscarriage?  

Thanks

Answer
Rhonda,

First and foremost I am sorry to hear of your loss. I do believe that a miscarriage is a necessity of life. Realize you have an innate intelligence that resides within and it was your innate intelligence that allowed the miscarriage to take place. This innate intelligence realized that the baby needed to be aborted because there was something wrong. If you think of it that way it may be a blessing in disguise.

With that said I definitely feel that you are describing a textbook bio-mechanical problem that is present in your lumbosacral spine and pelvis. Your spine is affecting your nervous system which is modulating between periods of pain and periods of relief. I would like you to ask yourself during the periods of time that you feel relief is it true relief? Whereas you can do what ever you want. For instance can you exercise, can you dance, can you work and take care of yourself and loved ones WITHOUT TAKING IT EASY? Or do you pay if you do a little too much? If you really do have true pain relief and don't suffer but it comes back did the problem fix itself? The human body is truly amazing and I want you to know your body is trying ever so hard to be in align and give you freedom of nerve flow but your underlying bio-mechanical problem called SUBLUXATION is more than likely present in your lumbosacral spine and pelvis.

I am glad you tried Chiropractic but I can almost guarantee that the chiropractor you chose did not explain that you must go through three phases of care. They are RELIEF CARE typically you would need to visit 3-4 times per week for 4-5 weeks. Phase two is CORRECTIVE CARE which is started once you are out of pain completely and your exam findings are basically negative. This phase is crucial and most people want to quit because they are not in pain. During this phase you will usually visit 2 times a week for 3-6 weeks. There is a transition from phase 2 to 3 whereas your frequency of visits will gradually decrease from 2 to 1 to every other week. Phase three is WELLNESS where you should continue chiropractic adjustments every 3 to 4 weeks. In addition to all of the above your chiropractor should prescribe mobility as well as strengthening exercises.

Herein lies the problem..your Chiropractor explained this to you and you said no and therefore chiropractic was not delivered the way it was meant to be delivered. Or the worse of the two scenarios your Chiropractor did not explain the process to you because he was afraid you wouldn't accept care. Either way you lost out.

You say you can't afford care but you really have to look at what "not" getting care costs you in your health and well being as well as your ability to work and take care of yourself and your loved ones. I would not suggest getting pregnant again until you have corrected your lower back issues.

To be direct about your miscarriage it is very possible that the nerve interference caused something to go wrong with your pregnancy and your body recognized something was awry and in turn did what mother nature or your innate intelligence does..aborted the fetus.

I hope this sheds some light on your question. I suggest you return to the chiropractor you started with and tell him you want to follow through and correct the problem and tell him you want to go through the three phases as described. Then tell him of your financial restraints and work out a payment program that both of you can live with. If you are not satisfied with that first chiropractor then ask around and find a reputable Chiropractor and get healthy. I feel very strongly that if you do not get to the bottom of this back pain your condition in all likelihood will worsen in intensity, duration and or frequency.

To your Health,

Dr John Quackenbush