Effectiveness of back-stretch exercise on back pain among pregnant women

Abstract

Background: Back pain (BP) could be present either as a pelvic girdle pain between the posterior iliac crest and the gluteal fold or as a lumbar pain over and around the lumbar spine. The management aims to reduce the discomfort and the impact on the pregnant woman’s quality of life. Purpose: The study aimed to determine the effect of back-stretch (BS) exercise on the perception of BP during pregnancy. Design and methods: A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest control group research design was used. The study was conducted in Gottigere health center, Bangalore, Karnataka, India. The BS exercise intervention was provided to the mothers of the study group. Data were collected from 60 antenatal mothers, 30 in the study, and control group, respectively who were in their 28-32 weeks of gestation by using a non-probability purposive sampling technique. The intensity of BP was estimated using the visual analogues scale. Findings: The comparison between the study and control group has proved a remarkable BP reduction among the antenatal mothers after BS exercise in the study group. The post-test mean intensity of BP was lesser than the pre-test mean intensity of BP (48.73< 54.83) among mothers of the study group (P≤0.001). The antenatal mothers of the control group did not have a statistically significant reduction in the level of BP. Conclusion: The BS exercise is effective in reducing BP among antenatal mothers during their antenatal period.