Musculoskeletal treatment of pregnant women with severe pelvic and low back pain.

INTRODUCTION

Back pain in pregnancy affects up to 90% of pregnant women, limits physical activity and mental health and has substantial socioeconomic implications. Musculoskeletal techniques (MT) are safe hands-on treatments for back pain and are easy to learn. This study evaluated the feasibility and impact of using MT on pain and function in pregnant women with back pain.

METHODS

This feasibility study included pregnant women with moderate or severe back pain who received two MT treatments at a 14-day interval and a healthy reference group. Pain intensity (numeric rating scale), functional disability (the Oswestry Disability Index) and activity limitations (the Pelvic Girdle Questionnaire) were assessed at baseline and after treatment. We performed the Mann-Whitney, marginal homogeneity and paired t-tests to investigate differences between groups.

RESULTS

The intervention group (n = 50) showed a significant reduction in pain intensity (numeric rating scale 7.2 ± 1.6 to 2.3 ± 1.4, p less-than 0.001), Oswestry Disability Index score (50.5 ± 13.2 to 28.6 ± 14.8, p less-than 0.001), and Pelvic Girdle Questionnaire score (71.1 ± 11.9 to 47.7 ± 17.2, p less-than 0.001) after treatment. 72% of the intervention group reported severe pain, which decreased to 2% after the intervention. Post-intervention pain levels in the treatment group were similar to those of the reference group (n = 20) at baseline (p = 0.74).

CONCLUSIONS

Two MT treatments are implementable in a Danish public hospital setting and may be effective in relieving pregnant women from their severe back pain. A clinical randomised study is needed.

FUNDING: This study was supported by the North Zealand Hospital, Denmark.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: The Danish Data Protection Agency (no. P-2021-535).