Article

Low back pain (LBP) is a common and often disabling condition that deserves
attention. Although LBP during pregnancy is a common clinical problem, only one
study was found documenting prevalence of LBP during pregnancy in Iran. No
investigation evaluated the diagnostic value of possible risk factors. The aims
of the present, cross-sectional study were 1) to ascertain the prevalence of LBP
of Iranian women during pregnancy and compare to other ethnic/cultural groups and
2) identify risk factors associated with LBP during pregnancy in Iranian women.
One hundred three women were interviewed in the obstetric ward of a university
hospital within 48 hours after giving birth. Possible risk factor associations
were studied by using nonparametric tests, and sensitivity, specificity, positive
and negative predictive, and likelihood ratio values were calculated for the
interview questions about previous low back pain, LBP during menstruation, and
trauma during pregnancy. The prevalence of LBP during pregnancy was found to be
57.3%, which is similar to most other countries. Pain onset was most frequently
reported in the third trimester of pregnancy (40.7%) and was often reported to be
in the low back area (71.2%). Almost half of the patients reported their pain as
being moderate (44.1%). The logistic regression model demonstrated that the LBP
during menstruation predicts a high risk for LBP during the current pregnancy.
The study showed that LBP during menstruation and previous LBP may be useful
tests for ruling out and ruling in LBP during pregnancy, respectively.

Langue : ANGLAIS