Pregnancy-related lumbar and pelvic girdle pain in Polish women

Abstract

Purpose of investigation: To examine lumbo-pelvic pain (LPP) characteristics in pregnant Polish women. Materials and Methods: The study population consisted of 189 Poles aged 21 to 40 (mean age 29.86 sd. 3.84) years, between 12 and 36 gestation weeks. The control group consisted of 36 non-pregnant Poles. On the basis of body diagrams the authors found three distinctive kinds of pain: Lumbar, pelvic girdle, and mixed pain. For further pain characteristics visual analogue scale (VAS) scale, Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), and Pelvic Girdle Questionnaire (PGQ) were used. Results: Sixty-five percent of pregnant women reported suffering from LPP. Mean pain intensity was 4.84 for lumbar pain (LP) and 4.87 for pelvic girdle pain (PGP) on the VA S scale. Mean activity limitation caused by PGP was 32.67% and mean disability caused by LP was 17.92%. The control group reported PGP significantly less often. Conclusions: LPP can cause significant problems in pregnant women and they also experience PGP more often than non-pregnant women.