Pelvic Pain and Low Back Pain in Pregnant Women – an Epidemiological Study

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Abstract
Background: Pelvic Pain in Pregnancy (PPP) has been diagnosed increasingly often in Norway. The relation to Low Back Pain (LBP) is unclear. Methods: The answers to 5,400 questionnaires were collected from Norwegian women shortly after delivery, and the occurrence of PPP and LBP in relation to various characteristics was studied. Results: 21% of primipara had had both PPP and LBP, whereas 51% had had neither. The figures in multipara were 31% and 33%. After stratification by panty the frequency of both types of pain decreased with increasing age. The largest occupational risk factor of PPP and/or LBP was having to twist or bend several times an hour. This may be preventable. Partial regression coefficients for panty, smoking, and weight of newborn were significantly larger with PPP than with LBP. Conclusion: The association of PPP and LBP to occupational exposure was similar. The statistical explanatory pattern, and thus possibly the etiology, is different in the two conditions.