Pregnancy and low back pain

Back pain is ubiquitous in today’s society and is particularly common during pregnancy. There are multiple factors contributing to these symptoms during pregnancy including pelvic changes as well as alterations to loading. Potential imaging modalities are limited during pregnancy due to the desire to limit ionizing radiation exposure to the fetus. Treatments are generally conservative, exercise-based interventions and alternative modalities may also be considered. Low back pain associated with pregnancy does generally resolve postpartum

Gait in Pregnancy-related Pelvic girdle Pain: amplitudes, timing, and coordination of horizontal trunk rotations

Walking is impaired in Pregnancy-related Pelvic girdle Pain (PPP). Walking velocity is reduced, and in postpartum PPP relative phase between horizontal pelvis and thorax rotations was found to be lower at higher velocities, and rotational amplitudes tended to be larger. While attempting to confirm these findings for PPP during pregnancy, we wanted to identify underlying mechanisms. We compared gait kinematics of 12 healthy pregnant women and 12 pregnant women with PPP, focusing on the amplitudes of transverse segmental rotations, the timing and relative phase of these rotations, and the amplitude of spinal rotations. In PPP during pregnancy walking velocity was lower than in controls, and negatively correlated with fear of movement. While patients’ rotational amplitudes were larger, with large inter-individual differences, spinal rotations did not differ between groups. In the patients, peak thorax rotation occurred earlier in the stride cycle at higher velocities, and relative phase was lower. The earlier results on postpartum PPP were confirmed for PPP during pregnancy. Spinal rotations remained unaffected, while at higher velocities the peak of thorax rotations occurred earlier in the stride cycle. The latter change may serve to avoid excessive spine rotations caused by the larger segmental rotations

Pregnancy-related pelvic girdle pain: an update

A large number of scientists from a wide range of medical and surgical disciplines have reported on the existence and characteristics of the clinical syndrome of pelvic girdle pain during or after pregnancy. This syndrome refers to a musculoskeletal type of persistent pain localised at the anterior and/or posterior aspect of the pelvic ring. The pain may radiate across the hip joint and the thigh bones. The symptoms may begin either during the first trimester of pregnancy, at labour or even during the postpartum period. The physiological processes characterising this clinical entity remain obscure. In this review, the definition and epidemiology, as well as a proposed diagnostic algorithm and treatment options, are presented. Ongoing research is desirable to establish clear management strategies that are based on the pathophysiologic mechanisms responsible for the escalation of the syndrome's symptoms to a fraction of the population of pregnant women

Relations between pregnancy-related low back pain, pelvic floor activity and pelvic floor dysfunction.

Contains fulltext : 47609.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)To assess the occurrence of pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD) in pregnancy- related low back and pelvic pain (PLBP) patients, a cross-sectional study was performed, comprising 77 subjects. Each subject underwent physical assessment, and filled in the Urogenital Distress Inventory completed with gynaecological questions. Differences in the presence of PFD between PLBP patients and healthy controls as well as differences in pelvic floor muscle activity were tested for significance. Interaction by age and vaginal delivery were tested. PFD occurred in 52% of all PLBP patients, significantly more than in the healthy control group. In PLBP patients a significantly increased activity of the pelvic floor muscles could be demonstrated with respect to healthy controls. The occurrence of PFD and PLBP was influenced by a confounding effect of age. Clinicians should be aware of the relation between PLBP and PFD and hence address both problems at the same time

Lombalgia durante a gestação: eficácia do tratamento com Reeducação Postural Global (RPG) Lumbar pain during pregnancy: efficacy of Global Postural Reeducation (GPR) treatment

Realizou-se um estudo clínico comparativo com o objetivo de avaliar o efeito da Reeducação Postural Global (RPG) no tratamento da lombalgia durante a gravidez e sua relação com limitações funcionais das gestantes. Os sujeitos foram 34 gestantes nulíparas atendidas em três centros de saúde e um hospital privado de Campinas, com idade gestacional entre 20 e 25 semanas e queixa de dor lombar. Dezessete gestantes foram submetidas a sessões de RPG durante oito semanas consecutivas, e as demais seguiram orientações de rotina para controle da dor lombar. Em cada sessão de RPG avaliou-se a intensidade da dor percebida pela mulher, antes e após os procedimentos. O grupo controle foi avaliado quanto à intensidade da dor na admissão, às quatro e oito semanas do estudo. Aplicou-se o questionário Roland-Morris para avaliar limitações funcionais, ao início e final do acompanhamento. O grupo de RPG apresentou decréscimo estatisticamente significativo na intensidade da dor antes e depois das sessões. Ao longo do estudo, as mulheres submetidas a RPG tiveram medianas de intensidade da dor e médias do escore de limitações funcionais significativamente menores que as do grupo controle. Análise de covariância indicou que o tratamento com RPG estava associado à menor intensidade da dor percebida ao final do estudo. Conclui-se que a RPG pode dar importante contribuição no tratamento da dor lombar durante a gestação, reduzindo, ao mesmo tempo, as limitações funcionais.<br>A clinical comparative study was carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of Global Postural Reeducation (GPR) in low back pain treatment during pregnancy, and its association with pregnant women functional limitations. The subjects were 34 nulliparous women attended in 3 public health units and 1 private hospital in Campinas. All women were at 20-25 weeks gestation and experiencing low back pain. Seventeen women were submitted to 8 GPR weekly consecutive sessions and 17 followed the routine recommendations for treating lumbar pain. In each GPR session the low back pain severity was assessed, before and after procedures. The control group had 3 low back pain intensity and treatment evaluation sessions (at admission, 4 and 8 weeks). Roland Morris questionnaire was applied in order to assess functional limitations in the beginning and at the end of the study. Women in the GPR group had a significant decrease of low back pain severity, before and after each session. Throughout the study, women in the GPR group had significantly lower pain medians and lower functional limitations score means than women in the control group. Covariance analysis pointed out that GPR treatment was associated to lower perceived pain intensity at the end of the follow-up. It is concluded that GPR can be an important contribution to the low back pain treatment during pregnancy and also it would help to reduce the damage caused by functional limitations. This will certainly has a positive influence upon women's quality of life

Posterior pelvic pain provocation test is negative in patients with lumbar herniated discs

The classification of pelvic girdle pain can only be reached after lumbar causes have been excluded by a clinical examination. During clinical examination, the posterior pelvic pain provocation test is a well-established method for verifying pelvic girdle pain. However, a criticism of pelvic pain provocation tests is that they may have an effect on lumbar structures, thus yielding false-positive results. The posterior pelvic pain provocation test was performed with four groups of patients: patients with computed tomography-verified disc herniations (1) on the waiting list for surgery (14 women; 9 men); (2) 6 weeks after disc surgery (18 women, 12 men); (3) pregnant women seeking care for pelvic girdle pain (n = 25); and (4) women with persistent pelvic girdle pain after delivery (n = 32). The sensitivity of the posterior pelvic pain provocation test was 0.88 and the specificity was 0.89. The positive predictive value was 0.89 and the negative predictive value was 0.87. Analysis of only women showed similar results. In our study, the posterior pelvic pain provocation test was negative in patients with a well-defined lumbar diagnosis of lumbar disc herniation, both before and after disc surgery. Our results are an important step toward the more accurate classification of lumbopelvic pain