Normal Vs Average ~ The Beacon for July 13, 2011

This past week I met with a new person starting chiropractic care.  During her initial consultation she told me she is pregnant and is experiencing some pain around her tailbone.  She shared a conversation she had recently with her nurse about her discomfort.  The nurse replied that this was quite “normal” for pregnant moms.  I stopped her and asked, “Does having consistent pain sound normal to you?” 
   “No,” she responded, “pain is usually a sign that there is something wrong.” 
   “You’re right; pain is a message from the body.  Now it may be average that many expecting moms do have tailbone pain, why do you think that is?” I asked. 
    “Well I am going through lots of changes, I am gaining lots of weight, my tummy is sticking out lots, and my lower back is curving out a lot.” She said as she demonstrated some of the changes that she was going through.  I stopped her while she was modeling the changes especially the extended lumbar curve she was making in her low back and helped her notice how this was making her tailbone stick out quite a lot. 
    “Do you think this could be why your tailbone is quite sore, because the curve of your back is out of alignment? I asked. 
    “That makes sense to me” she said. 
    “Now what else do you think could be effected if your lower back is out of alignment?” I asked.  She drew a blank.  So I slowed down and explained to her that if the pelvis is out of alignment like she was demonstrating to me it could decrease the opening of her birth canal by as much as 30%!  “Is this something that you want?” I asked. 
    ”No,” she responded and began looking much more interested in our conversation.  
    “Also this misalignment that we are speaking about is also a sign that your abdominal muscles are weak, “ I added.  “How important do you think it is to have strong abdominal muscles for during your delivery?” I asked. 
   “Oh I want my birth to go as quickly and as efficiently as possible” she naturally responded. 
    “I agree, not only for you and your health but also for your baby’s health as well” I added.  “Now let me ask you again, does having constant pain in your tailbone sound normal or average to you?” 
    She replied, “Well I can see now that this pain is not normal, it is a sign that I am out of alignment and I need help from you.  I am guessing if the nurse knew that misalignments are quite common and that lots of moms have this problem it must be quite average.” 
    “You are right,” I remarked “and if it is indeed average (which statistics show it is very common) how many moms are waiting to know this information?  And how many babies are being born with extra complications, like having to use forceps, vacuum extraction, or many even born via c-section all because their mom was out of alignment and a specific chiropractic adjustment could have solved the problem?” I asked.

Can YOU do me a favor?  For the health of our communities’ baby’s can you share this with all the pregnant moms that you know?  80% of all babies are born with imbalances in their spine and nerve system much of which could be prevented with safe and effective chiropractic care.

And remember to question when you are being told that something you are experiencing is normal, is it really normal or is it just that many people also have it?  Just because someone is experiencing or suffering from the same thing as you does that make it normal?

Let’s make health our communities’ normal and average state.

Yours in service

Dr. Norm