By Dr. Ryan Kiser
Here we go for September! Another article on the seemingly endless amount of articles regarding chiropractic and fertility. These topics may not seem like they go hand in hand, and you may be wondering why we are writing a blog about the two. Don’t be surprised, but every chiropractor, who practices in a subluxation/nervous system focused model, has a ‘boom! I’m pregnant’ patient story.
My first experience was during my third year of practice. I had a female patient who was a brand new lawyer. She had recently graduated from law school, and had even more recently passed the California Bar exam. She had pretty much every symptom one could have, and her exam findings were a mess. After two months of consistent adjustments, she came into the office, pulled me aside, and asked if chiropractic had anything to do with getting pregnant. I explained to her a little of what I’m going to be explaining to you today.
Her primary care physician told her she no longer needed to take birth control because her cycle was so abnormal and it would be virtually impossible for her to get pregnant. That may have been true, until she began chiropractic care. Looking at her exam findings, she had massive interferences in her cervical and lumbar spines, as well as a lumbar spine that really didn’t move how one is supposed to. What does this have to do with fertility? Let me tell you.
A chiropractor that both Dr Stan and I look up to, always asks if the “oven is working?” “If the oven isn’t working, why do you think you’ll be able to put a bun in it? We have to fix the oven before you can start cooking!”
He is not wrong.
If a patient, male or female, has subluxation and significant interference in their lumbar spine, they will likely experience issues with conception. Notice I said male AND female? That’s because it goes BOTH ways. Males are just as responsible for conceptual health as their female counterparts. In fact, 3.3–4.7 million men in the USA, or about 7.5% of all sexually active men, are actively seeking help for fertility. Unfortunately, most of the impetus is placed on women, but it really does take two to tango. As many as 1 in 6 couples have issues with conception, after trying for a year. The average time to conception in the US is six months. After this timeframe, many are referred to fertility docs only to continue having issues.
Why?
Because something isn’t working! Sticking with my story, my patient’s oven had not worked in so long that her doctor had said she need not worry about getting pregnant. Well after removing the interference to her nervous system with our chiropractic adjustments, restoring motion to the lumbar spine and pelvis, she became pregnant! The nerves that come off of our spinal cord in the lumbar spine and sacral area power the reproductive organs for both males and females, but also supply the neural inputs to the major hormonal centers housed in those areas. By removing the interference in this area of the spine, the messages that go to important areas like the uterus, ovaries, and testes are allowed to flow normally. So what did I do for this patient?
We fixed the oven!
Conception health is becoming more mainstream and a priority for people. In most cases, people just decide to have a kid, and they’re off to the races. If you follow our friends over at BirthFit, they recommend both potential parents getting into optimum shape during a “primester.”
Get it? Prime-mester. Clever.
Some sources recommend up to a year of priming the bodies for what will be the greatest athletic event, for the women, of their lives. This means eating foods that support the body best, proper movement, proper sleep, limited stress, a clean environment, and a proper functioning nervous system.
What do we do at Future Generations that can help facilitate an easy transition for a family of two to a family of three?
During our non-pregnancy exams (we don’t take x-rays of pregnant patients), every patient goes through a meticulous exam that highlights structure and function. During our physical exam, we can show women exactly how their pelvis is, or is not, functioning. Through the use of our neurospinal scans, we can show exactly where any interference is stuck in the system.Through the use of our motion radiographs, we can show exactly how a patient’s lumbar spine does, or doesn’t, function optimally. After formulating our plan of management, which also includes movement and nutritional recommendations, we have a better grasp on what is necessary to put our patients in optimal conception health.