3rd Trimester
Louddog
member
Chiropractor - Webster technique-Screwed up my back/pelvis - Lakewood ranch, FL
Louddog
member
Hi all,
I'm so upset. At 37weeks I went to this chiropractor to get my pelvis well aligned in hopes that it would help when I go into labor. Prior to going I had some very minor sciatic pain occasionally but other than that I felt fine. I could walk pain free. She is Webster technique certified. Her thermal assessment only showed a misalignment in my C6. She used some torque tool to adjust that and adjust the left side of my sacrum and then she loosened my left round ligament. By the Tuesday I had severe pain in my right iliac/sacrum area. By Wednesday, I could hardly walk. Five days later, and It's still incredibly painful to walk. My most comfortable mode of transport now is crawling on my hands and knees!
To make matters worse, my baby had been low in my belly with the head in my pelvis and now she is floating up by my ribs. I want very badly to have a vaginal birth and this is an important time for me to be walking to help the baby engage and progress. Plus, I have a 17 month old to care for and if I'm not better by Monday, my husband will have to take off from work!
I can't believe this has happened and don't know what to do. Find another chiropractor and get another adjustment? Or could that just further injure the area. I'm wondering if this chiropractor actually misaligned my pelvis and uterus and this is going to prevent the baby from engaging if its not fixed. Anyone else have this happen to them?
Re: Chiropractor - Webster technique-Screwed up my back/pelvis - Lakewood ranch, FL
Also, do you know for a fact she not still head in pelvis?
I know my baby has her head against my cervix because I have weekly ultrasounds but I often feel some kicks in my ribs when I'm sitting down.
From 35 weeks till the day I was adjusted my baby was very low in my belly, even the chiropractor commented on how low she was. I had to pee very frequently and felt like ball was in my vagina.
It feels now like her head is just sitting on the brim of my pelvis and not going in....And this is not due to cephalo-pelvic disproportion; her head was previously in and I've already vaginally birthed before and have a "proven" pelvis.
At this point I'm going to try and get a copy of my medical record from this chiropractor and bring it to another chiropractor, orthopedic, or PT to see if they can in-screw up what this woman did to me.
At this point I'm a believer in "if it ain't broke don't fix it"....or try to perfect it.
It sounds to me more like you just needed to vent than anything, so hopefully after doing so you feel at least a little better. Now call your doctor.
Sorry she misled you about her experience, though. That's quite unprofessional.
I would tend to agree with pp- you can't prove she caused your pain- even if it is located in the same area she treated- she could simply say she treated that area because she recognized a problem there, and then sure enough there was one.
I'm sorry you are in pain but there is nothing you can do except go to the doctor- I have personally had very severe pelvic instability and I also strongly recomend staying off your feet as much as humanly possible.
Good luck.
Not that OP is looking to sue. I just saw some comments that made me raise my eyebrows and figured I would jump in.
I would tell your OB what has happened and she can direct you to either physiotherapy (I totally echo the PP who said "physio all the way") or an orthopedic evaluation.
I loathe the chiropractic profession because of its quack science and what I have seen chiropractors do. I know that the vast majority provides relief to people who are uncomfortable, but there is simply no comparison between the risks of chiropractic treatment and the risks of more conservative (and scientifically sound) treatments like physiotherapy and massage. Sorry to rant. /threadjack
Good luck to you OP. Hope your OBGYN can help send you in the right direction.
I am not trying to convince OP to sue or that suing would be fast/easy/simple. I was surprised someone would say that "there is no cause for a medmal suit" and she would "never" be able to prove causation, as you did. I am letting OP know that based on her facts that a lawsuit is certainly an option to explore with a lawyer if her damage is permanent. This woman is crawling on her hands and knees for goodness sakes.
Chiro sounds inexperienced and like they were too rough. Have your OB give you a prescription for PT if you can and that will slowly and gently get things right again.
Part of the reason i started this post was to warn others that the webster technique can seriously harm a pregnant woman. Hopefully it won't happen to others. I'd love to just "move on" but it's a bit hard when you can't walk. I have a 17month old for whom I can't care for by myself now. My husband is having to take off from work as a result, we are now incurring the extra cost and time of more doctors/PT care to try to fix this, and Im just praying it doesn't ultimately result in a c-section.
lm disappointed that others would lack compassion and have attitude to "just move on." I'm sure if this was happening to you and your family, you wouldn't feel that way.
I appreciate the productive suggestions from others.
Just wanted to give an update on my condition and warn other women of the dangers of a chiropractor.
The injury I sustained from the webster technique turned out to be very serious. I've been told by doctors the over adjustment she made on my sacrum overstretched the ligaments and caused severe pelvic instability. It appears also to have fractured my L5 vertebrae and led to spinal instability. Its also affecting my right hip joint. I now have chronic SI Joint dysfunction and Spondylolisthesis. My L5 vertebrae is slipping forward on my sacrum. According to my MRI, it has severely narrowed the canal through which the nerves run through which explains the tingling I've had in my legs. Once a vertebrae slips far enough you can become paralyzed. The only fix for this problem is major lumbar spine surgery that has a very high failure rate. Having a pelvic torsion, as I do now thanks to the injury, further unstablizes the spondy that I also have thanks to the injury, and causes further deteriation....and could also cause problems post-surgery. Some people can live years with a minimal slip but if the slip is unstable or causes major pain or neurological symptoms, it requires major surgery.
My delivery and postpartum period was very painful. My acute pain wasn't taken seriously by my doctor I guess because I was pregnant and post-partum. (Kinda like how I wasn't taken seriously by some many women here when I first posted.) It has decreased to mild pain, but it never stops. It keeps me up at night. I have a 2yr old and baby that I've had to care for during the day. It is very sad that I can't hold my baby for any extended period unless I'm sitting. I can't play with them very well because of the pain. I am very scared about my condition at this point.
Today I was told that I should not get pregnant again. My husband and I wanted very badly to have more children so this news is very depressing. But the reality is that I am struggling to take care of the two I have and I don't know how I could possible do that while carrying another.
Just wanted to post this to warn other women. I had the impression that the Webster Technique was safe and very gentle. When I went to the chiropractor, I wasn't in pain. My baby was head down but posterior, so I really didn't need to have the technique done. I just figured it might help. I never would have had that procedure done if I know the risks. AND NO, she did not tell me the risks. In fact, the document I signed described chiropractic care as gentle and safe. There was no mention on risks on that document.
I'm really in shock at this point.
When I asked for my record I did so because I thought it would help the doctor know exactly what adjustment she made and help them figure out the injury. She refused to give me my medical record until I told her what was wrong. I made the mistake of telling her that my sacrum, hip, and lower back were so painful I couldn't walk. She then documented in my record that I said I had that pain prior to her adjustment. She also documented that I had swelling in those areas prior to her treatment. Her documentation was so sloppy that the states cervical and thoracic adjustments on me that she didn't make. The only proof I have that I was in good alignment prior to her adjustment is the thermal scan done in her office. Her assistant had given me a copy. Conveniently when I asked for my medical record that was not included in the documents the chiropractor sent.