Low back pain in pregnancy

Abstract

Pregnancy is a physiologic period of women's life which requires some adaptative changes in their body to ensure the development of the fetus. One of the systems affected by these adaptations is the musculoskeletal system by hormonal and biomechanical changes. Relaxin and estrogen are responsible for musculoskeletal adaptations. Low back pain (LBP) and pelvic gridle pain (PGP) are problems that cause pain and disability in pregnancy, especially in the second trimester. There are several risk factors that aggravate LBP and PGP. The diagnosis is mostly clinical. Imaging is not frequently used. Patient education, physical therapy, acupuncture, kinesio taping and some other interventions are mainly used in the treatment of LBP and PGP.