Hawkes Physiotherapy Blog

I have heard that acupuncture can help with back and pelvic pain in pregnancy, is this true? Back pain is common in pregnancy in fact, 20% of women report low back pain for up to 3 years after pregnancy (Noreen et al 2002). Now once again it is important to know that exercise based therapy is best (see below). Evidence-based recommendations can be made for the use of exercise therapy for lumbopelvic pain during pregnancy (van Benten et al 2014). And: The recommended treatment includes adequate information and reassurance of the patient alongside individualised exercises (Vleeming et al 2008). The type of exercises have traditionally been strength focussed but research has suggested that the key problem is related to motor control rather than strength alone (Richardson et al. 2004). Is acupuncture safe when I am pregnant? Provided the acupuncture is done correctly by a trained professional then there is no evidence that can be found to suggest that the...