Blog

Alexandra Sweeney
March 7, 2023

# Sleeping While Pregnant

Alexandra Sweeney
March 7, 2023

Sleeping is important, like all of the time. I’d say it’s most important when you are forming life though. It’s a cruel joke that pregnant women don’t typically get good sleep…but we are about to change that.

Alexandra Sweeney
April 10, 2021

# A Life Postpartum

Alexandra Sweeney
April 10, 2021

Can someone tell me why we are all so excited to talk about all things pregnancy but then when the baby is here we just. stop. talking…? I mean, yeah, I get the excitement of it all is great, but this woman JUST destroyed herself carrying the baby then delivering the baby. This is when things get interesting for a biomechanical nerd. There are so many changes that take place throughout pregnancy that can affect someone for the rest of their lives if not addressed properly.

First off, we have the dreaded diastasis recti (AKA DRA). There’s an important reason why this happens in pregnant women. You’ve got to make room for that baby while they are growing, so what else is going to happen but separation of your abdominal muscles? It’s worse in some versus others, but there are ways of fixing it without surgery. When someone has DRA that hints at me they have significantly compromised core, so we want to address this separation and improve the core quickly following delivery, because I would hate for a woman to be picking their baby up then throw out their back. It’s happened before, and trust me it ain’t pretty. We use different functional exercises to do this in our practice based on functional progressions that each and every one of us go through at different points in our development. We literally bring it back to the basics...so if you see me rolling around on the floor, I’m working on my core, I promise ;)

Then we have the ever-so forgotten, but one of the most important muscles: The Diaphragm. This is the one that brings air into your lungs and gives you life. But we all forget about it because if we can’t see it, then we don’t care about it, right? This is one that is hard to use while you are pregnant, but the exercises to work it out can be done almost immediately following almost any kind of labor.

Pierce has been into the postpartum game for a while now, but like with most things in our life, I’m a little later to the party. So, we are pivoting our focus to being the most well-informed postpartum team San Antonio has seen. That doesn’t mean we won’t be here for your prenatal moms and any of you on your conception journey, because we ARE. We just want to also be the ones there when the dust settles.

Since we all locked ourselves up in 2020, I’ve been on a mission to learn more about the biomechanical changes, how to address them and help my patients be stronger than before. I’ve sat through hours of education on it and plan to do more this year and next.

So consider this our official announcement: tell your diastasis recti, your diaphragms and your cores we are coming for them. Are you a freshly minted mom who wants to start rehabbing her core? Give us a call, we’d be happy to help :)

Alexandra Sweeney
April 29, 2020

# You're Not Drinking Enough Water.

Alexandra Sweeney
April 29, 2020

There I said it. You probably already know that though. Water is literally the lifeblood of all living things on earth...but again, you already knew that too. But do you know how much you’re actually supposed to get in a day? It’s recommended that people consume about 8 8 oz. cups of water in a day, almost 2 liters, but it’s so much more than that.

How much you weigh can determine how much water you need to consume (In general, you should try to drink between half an ounce and an ounce of water for each pound you weigh every day.).

You also don’t have to only drink H2O to meet your daily water intake, you can get it from the foods you eat and other drinks. Eat foods that are high in water content, like watermelon, cucumber, celery and strawberries. That morning smoothie? Yep, it’s got water in it. Be careful though, because that coffee and tea you’re drinking may count toward your water intake, but they also contain caffeine, which has a diuretic effect (hence the near-constant trips to the bathroom).

Living in San Antonio means we need more water than the average bear, especially in the warm (hot) summer months. There are water bottles and other ways to help you track your water intake. Give it a try and see how making sure you’re getting the water you need can change your health!

Alexandra Sweeney
April 22, 2020

# Breech Babies: The Nitty Gritty Details

Alexandra Sweeney
April 22, 2020

When I first started this practice, I always wondered why moms always waited until the last minute to reach out to me with a breech baby. Then I asked my friends who are midwives and OB/Gyns and they told me they don’t diagnose breech babies until 33 weeks. Cool.

You see, when a baby is small and still pretty mobile, there is no reason to be concerned about them being in the right or wrong position. There are many factors as to why they may not be positioned correctly. It could be prior trauma, previous surgeries, multiple pregnancies, poor pelvic and lumbar bony and muscular function, and some freak accidents in between.

As a chiropractor, I have been trained to evaluate the function of joints and soft tissues in the bony. As a Webster Certified chiropractor, I have been trained to zero in on the muscles, ligaments and joints that are found in the lumbar spine and pelvis.

The Webster Technique looks is synonymous with the round ligament of the uterus, but it addresses (or at least should address) so much more than that. The round ligament is basically like an anchor for the uterus to the pelvis. It is one of the few ligaments that has muscular fibers within it in the human body, that’s why you can have a direct effect on it. Often pregnant women will feel round ligament pain when they sneeze, cough or laugh. You will feel it on the outside of the bottom of your belly. It is only ever felt in pregnant women, though it’s present in women all of the time. Another ligament that lives in the same area is the broad ligament of the uterus. Chiropractors who use the Webster Technique will also affect this ligament, but it isn’t thought of as frequently as the round ligament.

But remember how I said the Webster Technique should address more than just the round ligament?

Your chiropractor should be looking at how your low back and pelvis and how they are moving and functioning and if they are hyper- or hypo-mobile and then addressing the dysfunction via an adjustment, however that may be. Another important structure for a chiropractor to look at is the musculature. The psoas, the lumbar spine erectors and the muscles of the core are important for encouraging proper fetal positioning.

If your chiropractor is trying to help your baby get into the right position and they are only addressing one of these elements, get yourself a new chiropractor who does. I can’t tell you how many moms I see who called because they were seeing a pregnancy and pediatric chiropractor during this pregnancy or a previous pregnancy with a breech baby and they saw me and had no idea what i was doing because their other chiropractor didn’t do what I was doing (which is more, from what I am told by the patient, than their other provider).

Look at the ICPA’s website to find a Webster Certified Chiropractor in your area, but if you are local to San Antonio and would like to schedule with me to address whatever is going on in your pregnancy, low back pain, neck pain, breech presentation, just let me know...I’ve seen it all :)

If you feel like I am a good fit for you, my number is (210) 323-2163, we can chat and get you on the schedule.

Alexandra Sweeney
April 14, 2020

# The Big Three: Muscles in Spasm During Pregnancy

Alexandra Sweeney
April 14, 2020

# PREGNANT WOMEN LISTEN UP!

Your muscles will inevitably go into spasm. Which ones they will be I don’t know, but I am willing to bet it will be one of The Big Three or all of them. These muscles all are intimately related to pelvic and low back stability. You have your lumbar spine erector spinae, your iliopsoas and the piriformis.

The erector spinae muscles lay on either side of the spine and go from the low back all the way up into the neck. They’re a group of muscles including the iliocostalis, longissimus, and spinalis (try saying those three times fast). The names don’t really matter as long as we know what they are meant to do and why they aren’t working properly for you. So, normally these muscles are meant to only be spinal stabilizers and are only meant to keep you standing upright (and sometimes will help with rotation of the spine)...but guess what. During pregnancy you’re putting a lot on these guys, but don’t worry, it’s not your fault, it’s just the nature of the beast. Your center of gravity gets thrown off and these muscles wind up becoming strength muscles just trying to properly keep you from collapsing forward. Fun stuff, eh?

Outside of being a fun word to try and say for the first time, the iliopsoas is your primary hip flexor and is responsible for bringing your knee to your chest. Sometimes it can be in such a spasm it is seen on x-ray. We don’t need to X-ray you though to know yours is in spasm, don’t you worry mama. The reason yours is going into spasm gets back to the whol center of gravity being thrown off again, however this is more related to your pelvic center of gravity. Your pelvis goes into what has been coined ‘Lower Crossed Syndrome’ by people smarter than me. Basically your pelvis tilts forward to accommodate a growing baby and indicates spasm in some muscles and weakness in others, in this case, we are talking about the iliopsoas.

The piriformis is such a tiny muscle but is the biggest pain in the butt. This muscle is responsible for causing sciatic-like symptoms in many people, whether they are pregnant or not. Without having any kind of trauma in pregnancy, I just assume this is the culprit if a patient comes in complaining of numbness/burning/tingling going down their leg. It is responsible for external rotation of the hips (opening your leg up). In pregnancy it acts as a sacral stabilizer and is just trying to keep your pelvis glued together, because let’s face it, your ligaments are drunk on Relaxin.

We have a video about how you can stretch these muscles out available to our followers on Facebook and Youtube. If you’re experiencing low back spasms and are pregnant (or not) these are pretty easy and reliable stretches to help while you wait to get into see us.

Give us a call at (210) 323-2163 to get on the schedule, we are always happy to help you have a comfortable pregnancy :)

Alexandra Sweeney
March 24, 2020

# My Fave Things About Social Distancing (So Far)

Alexandra Sweeney
March 24, 2020

Y’all. I am an introvert by nature, and believe it or not, so is Pierce, so we really enjoy being at home. Being (essentially) forced to stay at home makes me want to get out more though...funny how that works. As I’ve been practicing social distancing more though, it’s making me start to realize how many things I truly take for granted in any given day.

One of the nicest things for me, and it’s a little selfish, being a chiropractor who is still seeing acute patients, is the fact that traffic is SO LIGHT. It’s so nice being able to turn off the AC, roll down the windows and jam out to some sweet tunes. Plus singing at the top of my lungs and red-light dancing is so uplifting right now. Seriously, next time you’re headed to the grocery store, try it. Your heart will feel like it’s smiling.

Speaking of grocery shopping, I have seen so many more people connecting with each other (though at the CDC suggested distance of 6 feet), little smiles, jokes, noting the TP in the cart. It’s encouraging seeing people connect with each other. So many of us were stuck with our eyes glued to our phones, disengaging. So maybe we are practicing social distancing but encouraging social engagement.

As I’ve pulled into a neighborhood to see a patient, I always get a big smile on my face when I see a family taking a walk with each other. Movement is important. Being outside is important. Spending time with loved ones is important. It’s so nice seeing people connecting with all of those things.

Rarely, like in the last 2 years, have I been able to enjoy my yard (it’s a pretty great one). I love seeing the deer, birds and other wild life really thriving right now. I get to see the wildflowers dancing in the wind, the painted bunting come to my bird feed and listen to the noises of nature.

We don’t have kids yet. But we do have animals. And while it’s nice to come home to a loving husband and a comfortable house. there’s not much greater than animals that greet you when you walk in the door. I used to take is for granted, but now I try to greet each of them (Pierce first) as excitedly as they greet me. It’s also nice having a dog that all he wants to do is spend time with you while you’re working. We don’t deserve dogs, guys.

I truly believe that things happen for a reason, maybe this whole pandemic is meant to bring society closer together in a way we haven’t seen in a lifetime. So let’s all keep on enjoying time spent with loved ones, connecting with strangers and getting that ever-important (especially right now) Vitamin D.

Again, because I want to make it clear, we are here to continue to support you. If you are experiencing any musculoskeletal concerns, especially any that would make you go to the emergency room, we are encouraging you to seek treatment by a chiropractor at this time. We would be happy to help, give us a call at (210) 323-2163.

Please stay safe, stay well and most importantly stay home.

Alexandra Sweeney
March 17, 2020

# Dealing with CoronaVIrus (AKA Common Sense)

Alexandra Sweeney
March 17, 2020

We are in the midst of a global pandemic spreading like wildfire. How we respond to life helps to determine how quickly the virus could die down.

Right now, for this virus in particular, it is important to practice social distancing, whether you are feeling well or if you have been exposed to it either via travel or a carrier. We want to practice flattening the curve as much as possible, and the more social distancing there is, the better.

Our hospitals will likely begin to fill up soon with people who really and truly need emergent care, if you don’t need to be there, we encourage you to avoid it as much as possible-I’m looking at you low back pain, neck pain and headache sufferers. Those are something you should be seeing your chiropractor for, we specialize in musculoskeletal issues. It makes ZERO sense for anyone who is healthy but experiencing musculoskeletal pain to go into the hospital right now.

We keep hearing about people being tested and being positive for CoronaVirus, however you do not want to go into the hospital to see if you have it or not. Please wait until you’re either showing signs of COVID-19 before thinking you need a test. With that being said, you need to realize that the more tests become readily available there will be exceptional growth of people who have the virus. THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOU NEED TO PANIC, the tests are just being used more and naturally the numbers will grow.

Reach out to elderly neighbors, parents, grandparents, or any immunocompromised people, if you are healthy and low risk to see if they need anything from the store if you are headed that way. We need to make sure they get as little potential exposure as possible, because it can lead to severe complications for these populations.

Most importantly, the best thing you can do for yourself is to practice some self care. Get outside, plant a garden, go on a hike, for a bike ride, whatever…synthesize that Vitamin D, baby. Eat Healthy (maybe from your garden?), get lots of leafy greens, drink a healthy smoothie. Stress less, we practice limited social media exposure on the weekends and almost NO live TV. I always say I’ve got enough to worry about in my day to day life, It’s been really freeing. You should be getting enough water, it helps to support your immune system and can be just the thing your body needs. If we wind up being quarantined for whatever amount of time, use it as a way to reconnect with yourself, your family, God and mother nature-I bet you’ll come out on the other side a better person for it.

Since this whole thing started to directly affect my normal life, I’ve found beauty and appreciation in little things, that remind me everything is going to be OK. A bird happily chirping in a tree. The noises babies make when they are eating. A cat purring in your lap. Your dog wagging its tail when you come home. How much you love your family and friends. whatever it is, think about how great your life truly is and thank whoever it is that you believe in for it.

Obviously, please continue to stay well and practice good hygiene. Washing hands for 20 seconds has been proven to help prevent the spread of disease...that’s humming Happy Birthday to yourself twice. Wipe down surfaces with a disinfectant, we are using CaviWipes, an antiviral/bacterial/microbial on our tables and our office. Sneeze or cough into your elbows and not your hands. Avoid shaking hands with anyone that you don’t know. It just takes a little common sense to help people continue to stay healthy.

If you are feeling sick or having flu-like symptoms, please consider staying home and help prevent the spread of anything.

Take care of others.

We’re here for you through all of this. Our office continues to stay open for office visits, telemedicine and house calls. We will meet you where you are at…ya know, unless you’ve got CoronaVirus. We have a business to run and patients to treat, after all. If you’re having good ole, regular aches and pains, reach out to us and we will help you feel better. You can reach us at (210) 323-2163.

We’re all in this together, after all.

Alexandra Sweeney
March 10, 2020

# Exercises for Common Problems

Alexandra Sweeney
March 10, 2020

No body is perfect, hopefully if you follow these exercises we can help your body function more perfectly.

TMJ

If you’ve ever noticed your jaw popping or clicking (or getting stuck open or closed), you may have TMJ. You will also notice some ear or jaw pain associated with it. Most of the time, if you’re like me, it’s from clenching your teeth, especially while sleeping. Our favorite exercise for TMJ to instruct patients on is super easy to do, no one will be able to even tell you’re doing it at all. So, first, check and see where your tongue is sitting in your mouth. It should be lightly pressed against the back of the two top front teeth. That’s the exercise (yeah, really). I told you it’d be easy. In fact it’s so easy, that’s actually where the tongue should automatically go when at rest, like we’re talking anatomical position, correct biomechanics stuff (...<3). When you do this, it is virtually impossible to clench your teeth because it inhibits the muscles responsible for closing the jaw.

The hard part comes into play when we need to train your brain into putting it there.

So, what we suggest doing is pick a trigger (whatever it is, a text, a phone call, your kids shouting for your attention, etc.), make it something that happens throughout the day pretty regularly and then check and see where your tongue is. From a fellow TMJD patient, this really works. I’ve alleviated my symptoms and my tongue automatically goes behind my top front teeth.

Neck Pain

Neck pain is the worst. Most of the time it is followed up with a headache, which can range from not that bad to turn-off-all-of-the-lights-and-no-one-talk-to-me-until-I-am-ready bad. Lucky for you, we have some easy ways to help the neck pain you’re already experiencing and may prevent it from happening again.

First start off sitting, then you will tap yourself on your shoulders with your fingers (right to right/left to left). Relax your shoulders (but keep them where they are) and lower your arms down to your sides. Now you will want to take your neck through all of the ranges of motion. Look up, down, side to side and tilt your head from right to left.

You want to try to do this throughout your day, so there will be natural triggers to remind you to do your neck stretches (hopefully). We also like to do these when we are taking a shower or just trying to relax.

Low Back Pain

FACT. Low back pain is one of the most common excuses for people to either not go into work or participate in activities they would like to, but feel that they can’t.

This one may have to be done at home. First, get on your hands and knees on the ground. You’re then going to drop your bellybutton down toward the ground and look up (think of a cow standing in a field), then bring your bellybutton toward your spine/spine toward the ceiling (like a hissing cat).
If you are experiencing any of the above, we have so many more things left in our back pocket to help you. Give us a call, set up an appointment and then we can go over so much more detail. Our number is (210) 323-2163, give us a call anytime.

Alexandra Sweeney
March 4, 2020

# Natural Family Planning: BBT and Charting

Alexandra Sweeney
March 4, 2020

Whether you want to have a baby or are trying to avoid it altogether and also want to avoid hormonal birth control, you’ve come to the right blog!

When I first learned about charting in my obstetrics class, I couldn’t understand what each point in the chart meant, but you can learn a ton.

First things first, you need a way to measure your basal body temperature. This requires a special thermometer that measure to the hundredth of a degree because we are talking small but significant changes in temperatures. Luckily you can get them almost anywhere and prices vary greatly. Now that you’ve got your thermometer, you have to make sure to take your temperature at the same time everyday. Make sure it’s before you get up and start moving around, this temperature is measuring when you’re at rest, so it’s best to do it after about 4 hours of no activity, like in the morning before getting out of bed.

There are different tools that try to make it easier for you to track your BBT, like the Ava or OvuSense, which are wearable trackers. One you wear on your wrist like a watch while you’re sleeping and the other is inserted like a tampon.

So, now you’ve gotten your chart going, but now what are the key points you should be zeroing in on? Before ovulation, your temperatures will be lower and then there will be an exponential spike and then them temps will continue to stay high. Sometimes there will be a slight dip in temperatures before the spike, which is called an ovulation dip.

There is so much more to track, and we will save them for another post, this should get you on the right track though on starting to track your ovulation. Check back later for more ways to track your fertility.

Alexandra Sweeney
February 19, 2020

# The Gate Control Theory of Pain

Alexandra Sweeney
February 19, 2020

When I was in chiropractic school I learned so much about how and why chiropractic works but this is the one that made the most sense to me and has stuck with me many years later. Now, it’s just a theory, and it’s pretty hard to prove if it is true, maybe in my lifetime it will become a law of science.

Let’s set the scene, you’re walking along and then you stub your toe on the coffee table. What’s the first thing you do without even thinking about it? As soon as your brain realizes what’s going on, you put pressure on the stubbed toe and it helps alleviate the pain.

Now let’s get into the nitty-gritty details of the theory, pain and movement move up the same neural pathway to the brain. Movement is a faster and pain is a stronger signal up the pathway. The faster one, movement, will get to the brain faster and prevent the stronger one, pain, from making it in. So, by putting motion into the joint, it gets to the brain before the pain, essentially tricking the brain into thinking there isn’t a problem anymore (if there ever was).

So, how does this relate to chiropractic care? When a chiropractor puts movement into a joint, then that signal makes it to the brain before the pain signal can make it there. So, that’s why when patients get off the table they will feel better almost immediately, even if it’s only slight.

If you’re looking for a chiropractor and live in San Antonio, please reach out and I’m sure we can help. You can reach us at (210) 323-2163.