Acupuncture in pregnancy:

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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 theoretical risks of acupuncture whilst pregnant actual cause any harm (Moffatt & Flynn 2013). This was supported by Park et al (2014) who stated that acupuncture during pregnancy appears to be associated with very few adverse events when correctly applied.

Does acupuncture help then?

Here is a good paper showing the potential benefit of acupuncture for pregnancy related low back pain:

Moderate-quality evidence suggested that acupuncture or exercise, tailored to the stage of pregnancy, significantly reduced pelvic pain or lumbo-pelvic pain more than usual care alone. Interestingly they also found that acupuncture was significantly more effective than exercise for reducing pelvic pain.
Acupuncture was more effective than physiotherapy at relieving lumbo-pelvic pain and disability, although the effects were small (Pennick & Liddle 2013).

As always there is the placebo argument:

Field et al (2008) states that there is some evidence that sham acupuncture may produce similar results to real acupuncture, which was discussed in the previous article (see the link below).

http://mathewhawkesphysiotherapy.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/acupuncture-for-lower-back-pain.html

Can acupuncture help morning sickness?

Some studies showed a benefit in improving nausea and vomiting symptoms, but generally effects were inconsistent and limited (Matthews et al 2014). Personally however I have used acupuncture for this problem with great success. The key point is Pericardium 6.


So overall acupuncture is safe and effective for lower back and pelvic pain during pregnancy but exercise therapy and advice should still be the core management tactic.

If you need any further information or would like to book an appointment then call Hawkes Physiotherapy on 01782 771861 or 07866195914


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