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Is osteopathic treatment OK during pregnancy?

10 replies

Tossum · 03/04/2003 15:38

Hi, I'm new here, and my situation is this: my fiancee has had back troubles for years now, she always used anti-inflammetries for the pain. Now however she cannot use them because she is 5 months pregnant. The exercises that the NHS physiotherapist recommended three months ago are no use anymore because the bump is so big it hurts to do them. The waiting list is too long to book a new appointment, and my fiancee and I are desperate- she can not sleep at night and is virtually paralysed with pain. Our only solution as we see it is alternative treatment, but worry if there are any risks concerning the baby. Also treatment is extremely expensive and we a very poor young couple struggling to get by in an expensive part of Britain. Has anyone had successful osteopathic treatment through a painful pregnancy, and was it safe? Sorry to have gone on, and sorry to have seemed cold, but I am desperate.

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SoupDragon · 03/04/2003 15:49

I had osteopathy at under 10 weeks pregnant due to locked vertebrae (completely unrelated to pregnancy) which cured my long standing persistant back pain for a year. However, he was unable to treat me lying face down which limited the manipulation and did not want to use the ultrasound part of the treatment.

A friend went at about 35 weeks pregnant with bad sciatica which they tried to treat but were unable to because of the baby's lie.

Obviously at 5 months pregnant, your finacee is not going to be able to lie face down for treatment which will limit manipulation and limit what the osteopath can do. I don't think there are any specific risks to the baby as it is the mother's spine being manipulated.

It's probably worth phoning one/some and asking lots of questions - usually you will be speaking to a receptionist but you may be able to speak to the osteopath if you explain why. My current appointments cost £38 (first appointment £45) and first time round I needed 5 sessions. It's not cheap but for me the results were fantastic. It's worth trying to get this sorted as, once the baby arrives, there's lots of heavy/awkward lifting to be done.

Where in the UK are you?

Hope this helps,

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Tossum · 03/04/2003 15:57

Thanks for the reply, we are in Banbury. Izzy (my fiancee) is a teacher here, and is, as we speek literally stuck in her chair. I'll book her in for tonight, its just a shame that with all the practices in the yellow pages I'm going to be taking a "stab in the dark"- there will be no word of mouth to recommend me.
Thanks again, I really hope this works because her agony is enough to bring anyone to tears.

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SoupDragon · 03/04/2003 16:03

Have a good chat with them before booking to make sure it's worthwhile. Make sure they're registered with (I think) the General Osteopathic Council (or Council of Osteopathy). The prices I gave were London/Surrey prices so not cheap either

My experience is that they seem to be clued up as to what they can and can not do with pregnant women - if they seem at all vague or particularly blase, don't use them.

I can sympathise wholeheartedly.

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SoupDragon · 03/04/2003 16:07

The General Osteopathic Council has a website \linkwww.osteopathy.org.uk/here{} which may answer your questions and also help you find a local registered osteopath.

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SoupDragon · 03/04/2003 16:08

Or even...

The General Osteopathic Council has a website here which may answer your questions and also help you find a local registered osteopath.

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Tossum · 03/04/2003 16:13

Thanks for your help SoupDragon

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KatyW · 04/04/2003 15:30

I've had back problems for years, and saw an osteopath regularly (ie every 4-6 weeks) throughout my pregnancy, and still do. I'm convinced it was a lot to do with the treatments that my pregnancy went very smoothly, and she also gave me some good tips for labour. I float out of treatments feeling about 4 inches taller. It's harder to do adjustments when you're pregnant though, as all your ligaments become much more stretchy . However there are lots of other ways of treating eg massage, cranial osteopathy etc. I'm in London so can't really recommend anyone, but the GEOS website or even your gp might know of someone(if quite modern thinking!)

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Tossum · 07/04/2003 10:50

OK, we've seen an osteopath now, and theres good news, bad news, and very worrying news. The bad news is Izzys worse off now than she was before seeing him (we thought that wasnt possible), the good news is after 3.5 years we now know what the problem is- is her hip not her back, the worrying news is the osteopath rekons if she doesnt have an operation very soon then permenant damage will be done which might leave her in a wheel chair (from the extra weight see). He felt so bad at leaving her in more pain that he charged us less!
Anyway we've seen the Doc and hopefully she'll be fast-tracked to a consultant with a nice shiny MRI machine. This has gone off topic, but just incase anyone cares to read the experiences of others...
I'd recommend an osteopath to anyone in pain now, simply because of the attention, concentration and ultimately, help, they recieve.

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SoupDragon · 07/04/2003 11:00

I'm so sorry to hear Izzy's in more pain now then before but I guess you know what the real problem is now.

I hope it gets sorted as quickly as possible.

Good luck.