Epidural analgesia and back pain after labor

Abstract

Background and Objectives: The aim of this survey was to assess the impact of epidural analgesia on post-partum back pain in post-partum women. Materials and Methods: The questionnaire was completed by post-partum women during the first days after delivery. Six months later, the women were surveyed again. The response rate was 70.66%, a total of 212 cases were included in the statistical analysis. The statistical analysis of the data was conducted using SPSS® Results. Seventy-nine (37.26%) women received epidural analgesia, 87 (41.04%) intravenous drugs, and 46 (21.7%) women gave birth without anesthesia. The prevalence of post-partum back pain was observed in 24 (30.38%) women of the epidural analgesia group, in 24 (27.58%) subjects of the intravenous anesthesia group, and in 14 (30.43%) women attributed to the group of subjects without anesthesia. The correlation between post-partum back pain and the type of anesthesia was not statistically significant (p = 0.907). Six months later, the prevalence of back pain was found in 31.65% of women belonging to the epidural analgesia group, in 28.74% of women with intravenous anesthesia, and in 23.91% of women without anesthesia. The correlation between complaints of back pain six months after delivery and the type of anesthesia applied was not statistically significant (p = 0.654). Conclusions. The labor pain relief technique did not trigger the increased risk of back pain in the early post-partum period and six months after delivery.