Webster Technique Chiropractor in St. Petersburg, FL
Gentle, precise care that helps expecting mothers restore pelvic balance and feel more comfortable through pregnancy.
What's Covered on This Page
- Understanding the True Purpose of the Webster Technique
- When the Webster Technique is most appropriate
- Weaving the Webster Technique into St. Petersburg Birth Team Care
- What actually happens during a Webster Technique visit?
- Does the Webster Technique actually flip a breech baby?
- When in pregnancy should I start Webster Technique care?
- Can it help with back pain and hip pain during pregnancy?
- Is it safe to use alongside my OB or midwife's care?
- How many Webster Technique visits will I need?
Pregnant and feeling tension in your pelvis, hips, or lower back?
Gentle, certified Webster Technique care right here in St. Petersburg.
Understanding the True Purpose of the Webster Technique
First things first: the Webster Technique does not turn a baby's position. That is simply not what our Webster-certified chiropractors do, nor what anyone else with that certification does either. Instead, the technique is used for a much more practical function, based on the mechanics of your anatomy.
The Webster Technique is a precise chiropractic examination and adjustment that involves the analysis and correction of the sacrum and the pelvis. Your sacrum is the triangular bone at the bottom of your spine, and it moves during pregnancy. This movement causes ligaments and the pelvis to stretch and pull on either side of the pelvis causing tension in the uterine ligaments. This is why our adjustment involves sacral correction.
Specifically, this adjustment focuses on:
- Sacral subluxation causing sacroiliac strain
- Tension of the round ligament connecting your uterus to the pelvic walls
- Decreased function of the sacroiliac joints on either side of the coccyx
- Tightening of the hip flexors and the piriformis muscles
Once these muscles and ligaments become tight, the mother's womb will not have enough room for the baby to comfortably move into the position for birth. However, babies are sensitive to their environment; if they don't have the environment in their mom's womb, it is difficult for them to move into that position on their own. After we remove this interference, the baby has the perfect opportunity to position itself correctly.
We hear this in our St. Petersburg office often. Expectant mothers will be coming in at 32, 34, even 36 weeks with a breech or transverse baby. Sometimes they have been told to expect to have a c-section. After just a few visits, Webster Technique can change the position of their baby. Remember that we will never promise a turn to an expecting mother. No chiropractor will. We can only help your baby find a better position.
Our St. Petersburg family chiropractic clinic has cared for families from the home birth community to hospital doctors and birthing centers within the Kenwood and the Euclid-St. Paul areas of St. Petersburg. No matter what your birthing plan is, the Webster Technique can be integrated into your pregnancy care and should always be coordinated with your medical care provider.
When the Webster Technique is most appropriate during pregnancy
Webster Technique is most appropriate when a pregnant mom in St. Petersburg is experiencing the following: Many women seeking prenatal chiropractic care in St. Petersburg are able to benefit from the Webster Technique. There are times when we see the benefits of the Webster Technique in specific situations.
The most common reason people seek Webster Technique services is because a baby is late in their pregnancy and is in a breech or posterior position. People have heard about it from their midwife, OB, a mom in their birthing class or yoga class. They don't know what to expect but feel they need to try something before things get worse. We're here for those situations. Breech is certainly not the only reason women come in. They come at all three trimesters for many different reasons:
- round ligament pain; when they are unable to walk or turn in bed
- low back and hip pain; the deeper into pregnancy they get, the more difficult they are
- pelvic joint (pubic symphysis) discomfort; which women often don't know will happen and nobody warned them
- sciatic pain; that occurs down one leg or both legs
- general tension and tightness in the pelvic area
We regularly see a patient from her second trimester who believes she will have to live with her back pain throughout her pregnancy and into her delivery time; however, after a few sessions, she feels she can sleep and move better, without a sharp hip catching. No wonder. When her pelvic area is balanced, life can become more comfortable. First-time moms usually come in earlier. We are delighted to work with them.
If you live in Kenwood or Euclid-St. Paul and you are experiencing your first pregnancy, getting chiropractic care for the Webster Technique as soon as you are diagnosed (i.e. first or second trimester) will assist you to maintain a balanced pelvis as the pregnancy progresses; you won't have to wait until something is wrong. Second and third-time moms come in as they are more likely to be experiencing a pelvic problem. It's likely because they had pelvic pain from their last pregnancy. It was their previous difficult labor, delivery and recovery and they desire that the current pregnancy and labor will go differently than before.
A landmark 2002 study from the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics reports that the Webster Technique has had an 82% success rate in women experiencing conditions that cause babies to deliver in the breech position 1.
If you are looking to determine if chiropractic is the right option for you in your pregnancy experience, please review all our prenatal, and post-natal services for family chiropractic care for an overview of our entire approach to your care. Just know that if you are pregnant and your body isn't functioning quite right as far as your pelvis, hips, or back are concerned, you don't have to "live with it"!
What to Expect During Your First Webster Technique Visit
Many moms come in feeling very nervous. They don't know what a chiropractic visit during pregnancy will feel like and for that reason they are apprehensive. This is very understandable! We'll tell you about a visit to our St. Pete office:
First, we will start our conversation about where you're at, how you're feeling about your pregnancy so far, where you're experiencing the tension or discomfort and what your delivery plan is. Context matters. This helps us understand how we will proceed with our treatment. Then we will look at your pelvic area. We'll check how your pelvic area is aligned and functioning, the tension of your round ligaments and position of your sacrum, and how all these areas are working together. The body changes quickly, and what feels snug one week can be tight the next. Our Webster adjustment is a very gentle adjustment. We adjust a pregnant person while she lies down on a table that accommodates her baby bump, so there's never any pressure applied to the abdomen. We adjust her sacrum, and work on any anterior soft tissue as well. Most women say they are surprised by how light our touch is.
Our visit usually includes:
- Review of medical history and obstetric history
- Assessment of posture and the pelvis
- Assessment of the round ligament (soft tissues) on the abdomen.
- Webster Technique adjustment on the pelvis/sacrum
- A discussion of how you're feeling before you leave.
The initial visit typically takes 45 minutes. Subsequent visits are shorter than our initial visit. We see a lot of moms during their 2nd trimester and 3rd trimester of pregnancy from the Shore Acres and Kenwood neighborhoods. The sooner we can get to work, the better, so the longer the adjustment can help her through to delivery. If you've never had a chiropractic adjustment before, that's fine. Many of our prenatal patients haven't, and we're going to take the time to explain everything to you before we begin the adjustment.
The Florida climate can be difficult for your pelvic alignment
While the St. Petersburg weather and humidity can make your pregnancy uncomfortable, it can also cause physical stresses that show up in your pelvis, joints and lower back without many people realizing it. Here's a common scenario we see in the office: A patient comes in around the 2nd trimester (in summer) where she may spend much of the day in the cooler climate of an air conditioned home or office, then goes into 90+ degree weather outside on a hot and humid day. This constant cycle of cold and dry climate versus hot and humid climate causes your muscles to tighten up repeatedly and then release over and over again. Your pelvis doesn't do well with that cycle. Neither does your sacroiliac joint.
Another thing when you think about Florida weather and your pelvis: It causes you to lose water faster than you might realize. When you're pregnant and dehydrated, it causes the soft tissues of your pelvis and sacrum to lose elasticity. They become stiffer. And the more stiff the soft tissues are around your pelvis, the less your pelvis can do as you grow and your baby is moving. One other factor that's unique to our area: The flat terrain in many neighborhoods, like Shore Acres, means many pregnant women walk for a long period on flat, hard sidewalks.
While that seems innocuous, it's actually detrimental because the flat ground reduces the mobility of your pelvis. This lack of natural incline affects your gait mechanics. Throw in flip-flops, which are basically the footwear staple of St. Petersburg, and you have minimal or no arch support when you're already shifting weight forward and downward in your body during this time of pregnancy. Relaxin, the hormone that causes your ligaments to loosen during pregnancy, is busy enough work already. But heat increases laxity in the joints, so now the pelvis is too mobile in some directions and too stiff in others. That's exactly the problem the Webster Technique chiropractic care we offer in St. Petersburg addresses.
- Dehydrating round ligaments
- Feet that swell and change weight distribution to hips
- Long time of sitting in cold air conditioning with sacrum getting tight
- Fatigue from heat leading to slouching and loss of lower back curves
No one of these is a disaster by itself. In a summer pregnancy, in Florida, all of these things add up. But all of these, of course, we work on directly.
Wondering if it is the right time to start care?
We will give you an honest picture after your first exam, with no pressure.
Weaving the Webster Technique into St. Petersburg Birth Team Care
What we constantly see is moms waiting until the third trimester to mention to her midwife or OB she gets a Webster Technique Chiropractor. She may have already received adjustments from our Webster Technique Chiropractor for several months, and has not thought to mention the care to them. That's all fine, it's better to begin that dialogue sooner.
Your birthing team, the midwife or the OB in St. Petersburg, should know what kind of care you're receiving. Almost all midwives and OBs that we work with are welcoming of patients under care of a Webster technique provider. It won't be the case that they will try to have you stop. They'd just like to know how long you've been receiving chiropractic care, and how often, as well as what is being worked on. Simply mention it at your next prenatal visit. Tell them what you've been doing. A two-minute conversation that helps connect the dots.
Weaving your chiropractic care into the birthing plan really matters because:
- If you receive Webster Technique care, your care provider may notice a difference in the way you hold certain positions during your labor and delivery assessments.
- If you use a doula, she may be able to time some of her techniques with your chiropractic schedule.
- Some midwifery practices or birth centers around Shore Acres and Euclid-St. Paul have relationships with Webster Technique Chiropractors.
- Your provider may wish to include a note of receiving Webster Technique care in your obstetrics chart.
If you wish, we are always happy to communicate with your provider. We can provide a short note of what we've done to get where you're at now, and what's going on. We do it all the time, and it's no big deal.
The postpartum period is a key time for chiropractic care in our practice as well. Regardless of what kind of delivery you have, vaginal or C-section, your pelvis and sacrum are stressed. Lots of people come to see us for chiropractic after they've just had a baby. We offer postpartum chiropractic care because we believe it's important.
Your St. Petersburg birth team handles birth. We treat the anatomy that births are delivered through. There is no competition between the two.
If you're unsure how to start a conversation, ask. Start by connecting with a family practice physician today.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions from expecting moms across St. Petersburg.
What actually happens during a Webster Technique visit at your St. Petersburg office?
Your first visit starts with a conversation about how you are feeling and where your discomfort is. Then we gently examine your sacrum and pelvis to find areas of tension. The adjustment itself is soft and precise — nothing forceful. Most moms are surprised by how comfortable it feels. We work with your body, not against it. Many patients from the Kenwood and Euclid-St. Paul areas leave feeling noticeably lighter and more mobile after just one session.
Does the Webster Technique actually flip a breech baby?
No chiropractor can promise to turn a baby, and we will never make that claim. What the Webster Technique does is remove tension from your sacrum, pelvis, and uterine ligaments. When that tension is gone, your baby has more room to move on its own. Many St. Petersburg moms have come in with a breech baby at 32 to 36 weeks and later heard from their OB or midwife that the baby had turned. We create the right environment — your baby does the rest.
When in pregnancy should I start Webster Technique care?
You can start as early as your first trimester, and earlier is often better. First-time moms who begin care early tend to maintain better pelvic balance as their pregnancy progresses. Second and third-time moms often come in because they had pelvic pain or a difficult labor before and want a different experience this time. Whether you are eight weeks along or 36 weeks with a breech baby, there is a good time to start. Do not wait until something feels seriously wrong.
Can the Webster Technique help with back pain and hip pain during pregnancy?
Yes, pelvic balance directly affects your back, hips, and legs. Many moms come in with round ligament pain, sciatic pain down one or both legs, pubic symphysis discomfort, or pain that makes it hard to walk or sleep. These are all connected to how your sacrum and pelvis are aligned. After a few visits, most patients say they can sleep better and move without that sharp hip catching feeling. You do not have to live with pregnancy pain as if it is just part of the process.
Is the Webster Technique safe to use alongside my OB or midwife's care in St. Petersburg?
Yes, and we always recommend coordinating with your medical provider. The Webster Technique works alongside your existing pregnancy care — it does not replace it. We have worked with families connected to home birth communities, hospital doctors, and birthing centers in the St. Petersburg area. Whether your plan is a home birth or a hospital delivery, Webster Technique care can fit into your overall plan. We are happy to communicate with your OB or midwife directly if that helps.
How many Webster Technique visits will I need?
It depends on how far along you are and what you are experiencing. Some moms notice a shift after two or three visits. Others benefit from regular care throughout their second and third trimesters. If you are coming in late in pregnancy with a breech or posterior baby, we typically recommend more frequent visits at first. We will give you an honest picture of what to expect after your first exam. The goal is always to get you feeling better and functioning well — not to keep you coming in longer than needed.
Restore Pelvic Balance Through Your Pregnancy
Gentle, Webster-certified chiropractic care for expecting moms in St. Petersburg. Visit us at 4610 Central Ave Ste B, St. Petersburg, FL 33711. Call or book online to get started.