Assessment of Factors Responsible for Low Back Pain Among Pregnant Women Attending Tertiary Care Hospital of Lahore, Pakistan

Background: Low back pain (LBP) is a common disorder involving the muscles, nerves, and bones of the back. Pain can vary from a dull constant ache to a sudden sharp feeling. This can be due to a combination of mechanical, hormonal, and psychosocial factors. These have a negative impact on their quality of life. Treatment options are often poor, as the cause of back pain is not always fully understood. Furthermore, treatments that are available usually have a low success rate and consist mainly of lifestyle adjustments and bed rest. Material and Methods: Two hundred and ten women were selected from the OPD of genecology and obstetrics department of Jinnah hospital Lahore for interview, a structured questionnaire was used for information, data entered in computer software SPSS version 22.0. A cross sectional survey was done. Participants of the study are 15 to 45 years old having established diagnosis of low back pain. Duration of the study was 3 months. Result: Among 210 females, 22.22% noted ongoing back pain at the time they became pregnant. 54% were multigravidas and 41% were grand multigravidas. In the latter group, 19% patients had backache before pregnancy and 81% had during pregnancy. No treatment was taken in 61% patients, rest in 19%, analgesic in 12% and light exercise by 9% patients. The present study revealed that backache is more prevalent in multigravidas, grand multigravidas and associated factors like weightlifting, heavy work, bending, standing posture etc. are main causes of backache. Analgesics are effective in relieving backache in pregnancy. The appropriate treatment aims to reduce the discomfort and the impact on the pregnant woman's quality of life. Conclusion: Back pain is a common problem in pregnant women and many factors contribute to it. About half of the patients are taking rest to treat LBP. It is advised that the patient should be given special advice regarding posture and exercise, training of health care provider, education of the pregnant during antenatal sessions, about proper nutrition, weight control, and family planning.