The physical demands on your spine do not end at delivery, they change shape. Nine months of forward load stop suddenly, the abdominal wall is still stretched, and within days you start lifting, feeding, and leaning forward dozens of times a day. At Cadence Chiropractic in American Fork and Spanish Fork, postpartum care focuses on restoring even pelvic motion and unloading the upper back and neck, using low-force adjustments with no twisting or popping. Most new mothers who come in are not dealing with an injury from birth. They are dealing with a body that lost its abdominal brace and picked up a repetitive job at the same time.

What actually happens to your spine after you give birth?

The load in front of your spine disappears overnight, but the tissue that supported it does not recover on the same schedule.

Your uterus returns to roughly pre-pregnancy size over about six weeks. The connective tissue does not keep pace. Serum relaxin, the hormone that increases ligament laxity, falls quickly after delivery, yet ligaments and fascia need far longer to regain stiffness. The result is a pelvis that can move more than it should while the muscles around it are still weak.

The abdominal wall is the bigger factor. Diastasis recti, a widening of the gap between the two halves of the rectus abdominis, is common well past delivery. A study of first-time mothers published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine in 2016 found separation in 60 percent at six weeks postpartum, 45.4 percent at six months, and 32.6 percent at twelve months. When the front of the trunk cannot brace, the low back and sacroiliac joints absorb the difference.

Why does your neck and upper back hurt more than your low back now?

Because the job changed. Pregnancy loaded the lumbar spine. Newborn care loads the thoracic spine, shoulders, and neck.

Newborns feed 8 to 12 times in 24 hours according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, and most of those sessions involve looking down and rounding forward. A baby who weighs about seven and a half pounds at birth doubles that by roughly five months. Add a car seat carrier, which usually weighs eight to ten pounds empty, and you are carrying fifteen to twenty pounds on one side while stepping through a doorway. Mid-back tension, headaches at the base of the skull, and a sharp spot between the shoulder blades are the predictable outcomes.

When can you start chiropractic care after giving birth?

After an uncomplicated vaginal birth, gentle care can usually begin within the first week or two. After a cesarean, care is coordinated with your surgical clearance.

Cesarean deliveries accounted for 32.4 percent of U.S. births in 2024, according to CDC final birth data. That means roughly one in three new mothers is recovering from abdominal surgery on top of everything else. For those patients we avoid prone positioning, work around the incision entirely in early visits, and focus on the pelvis, upper back, and ribs until the site is healed.

ACOG recommends contact with your obstetric provider within the first three weeks postpartum and a comprehensive visit no later than twelve weeks after birth. Chiropractic care runs alongside that, not instead of it.

How does Cadence Chiropractic handle a postpartum visit?

We assess the whole chain rather than the spot that hurts, then adjust with the lowest force that does the job.

The Activator Method uses a small handheld instrument to deliver a precise, measured impulse. No rotation, no cracking, and no positioning that strains a healing pelvic floor or abdominal wall.
Pelvic assessment carries over from our Webster Technique training, since sacral and sacroiliac restrictions that developed during pregnancy rarely resolve on their own.
Positioning is adjusted for tender tissue, and babies are welcome in the room.

A first visit runs 45 minutes to an hour and generally costs $100 to $150. Follow-ups take 15 to 20 minutes and range from $55 to $75. We accept Select Health, Blue Cross Blue Shield, United Health, and UMR. No referral is required.

What helps between visits?

Alternate the side you carry the car seat on, and switch feeding positions rather than defaulting to the same one. Raise the baby to your chest instead of dropping your chin to the baby. Hinge at the hips when lifting from a crib or a floor mat. Hold off on crunches and planks while your midline still domes outward. ACOG advises resuming activity gradually and working toward 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity per week once you are cleared.

When should you call your OB or midwife first?

Call your provider before booking if you have heavy bleeding, fever, a red or draining incision, calf pain or swelling, severe headache, chest pain, or new loss of bladder or bowel control. Those need medical evaluation.

Postpartum back pain is usually a loading problem, and loading problems respond to care. Cadence Chiropractic serves new mothers across Utah County from our American Fork and Spanish Fork offices. Schedule an evaluation and we will build a plan around your delivery, your recovery, and the very full days you are already having.