Effectiveness of Manual Treatment on Pregnancy Symptoms: Usefulness of Manual Treatment in Treating Pregnancy Symptoms.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the usefulness of manual treatment in reducing or eliminating pregnancy symptoms during first and second trimester.

METHODS: Manual treatment of the cervical and thoracic spine was performed in a group of 115 pregnant women who developed pregnancy symptoms during normal pregnancy. A rotational traction of the cervical spine was applied. Patients in whom the treatment was unsuccessful underwent second round of treatment after a pause of a minimum 3 days. Patients for whom the treatment was initially successful but later relapsed also repeated whole procedure. Pregnancy symptoms analyzed in this study were heartburn, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, headache, insomnia, neck pain, hyperosmia and hypersalivating.

RESULTS: Manual treatment successfully treated pregnancy symptoms in 91 (79.1%) patients, it was partially successful for 22 (19.1%), and unsuccessful for 2 patients (1.7%) after the first treatment. After the second treatment, out of a total 56 patients, the treatment was completely successful in 40 (71.4%), partially successful in 14 (25%), and unsuccessful in 2 (3.6%) patients. The highest success rate was in eliminating headache (97.3%), vomiting (95.9%), dizziness (94.5%), nausea (92.9%), neck pain (92.9%), insomnia (91.9%), heartburn (88.8%), hyperosmia (78.5%) and hyper salivating (78%).

CONCLUSION: Manual therapy in pregnancy is a drugless, etiological, usually highly effective therapy. It is a low cost, rapid, safe, and well tolerated treatment for pregnancy symptoms which frequently has an immediate effect, thus making it an optimal treatment for pregnancy symptoms.