Musculoskeletal pain and symptoms in pregnancy: a descriptive study

Serdar Kesikburun, Ümüt Güzelküçük, Ulaş Fidan, Yasin Demir, Ali Ergün, Arif Kenan Tan, Serdar Kesikburun, Ümüt Güzelküçük, Ulaş Fidan, Yasin Demir, Ali Ergün, Arif Kenan Tan

Abstract

Background: Pregnancy-induced hormonal and physiologic changes increase the risk of musculoskeletal problems in pregnancy. The purpose of this report is to provide a comprehensive look at the musculoskeletal pain and symptoms experienced during pregnancy.

Methods: A total of 184 women (mean age 30.9 ± 5.0 years) who gave birth in the obstetrics clinic of a tertiary hospital were included in the study. The participants who had given birth at 37-42 weeks of pregnancy (term pregnancy) and aged over 18 years were selected for participation. Basic demographic and clinical characteristics of the participants including age, body mass index, weight gained during pregnancy, education level, occupation, parity, sex of baby, and exercise habits were collected from the medical chart and face-to-face interviews. Musculoskeletal pain sites were defined as hand-wrist, elbow, shoulder, neck, back, low back, hip, knee, and ankle-foot in a diagram of the human body. The interviews with participants were performed to assess their musculoskeletal pain separately at each trimester follow-up visit.

Results: The most frequent musculoskeletal complaints during pregnancy were low back pain (n = 130, 70.7%), back pain (n = 80, 43.5%), hand-wrist (n = 61, 33.2%) and hip pain (n = 59, 32.1%). The participants experienced musculoskeletal pain most in the third trimester except for elbow, shoulder and neck pain compared with the first and second trimesters (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: The results of the study suggest that numerous musculoskeletal problems may complicate pregnancy especially in the third trimester.

Keywords: female; musculoskeletal problems; pregnancy.

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Distribution of pain sites through pregnancy.

References

    1. Thabah M, Ravindran V. Musculoskeletal problems in pregnancy. Rheumatol Int 2015; 35: 581–587.
    1. Smith MW, Marcus PS, Wurtz LD. Orthopedic issues in pregnancy. Obstet Gynecol Surv 2008; 63: 103–111.
    1. Heckman JD, Sassard R. Current concepts review: musculoskeletal considerations in pregnancy. J Bone Joint Surg Am 1994; 76: 1720–1730.
    1. Borg-Stein J, Dugan SA. Musculoskeletal disorders of pregnancy, delivery and postpartum. Phys Med Rehabil Clin N Am 2007; 18: 459–476.
    1. Sumilo D, Kurinczuk JJ, Redshaw ME, et al. Prevalence and impact of disability in women who had recently given birth in the UK. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth 2012; 12: 31.
    1. Paul JA, Van Dijk FJ, Frings-Dresen MH. Work load and musculoskeletal complaints during pregnancy. Scand J Work Environ Health 1994; 20: 153–159.
    1. Borg-Stein J, Dugan SA, Gruber J. Musculoskeletal aspects of pregnancy. Am J Phys Med Rehabil 2005; 84: 180–192.
    1. Franklin M, Conner-Kerr T. An analysis of posture and back pain in the first and third trimesters of pregnancy. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 1998; 28: 133–138.
    1. Malmqvist S, Kjaermann I, Andersen K, et al. Prevalence of low back and pelvic pain during pregnancy in a Norwegian population. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2012; 35: 272–278.
    1. Bergström C, Persson M, Mogren I. Pregnancy-related low back pain and pelvic girdle pain approximately 14 months after pregnancy - pain status, self-rated health and family situation. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth 2014; 14: 48.
    1. Vullo VJ, Richardson JK, Hurvitz EA. Hip, knee, and foot pain during pregnancy and the postpartum period. J Fam Pract 1996; 43: 63–68.
    1. Thomas E, Cox C, Murphy D, et al. Hip fracture during labour due to transient osteoporosis of the hip in pregnancy. J Obstet Gynaecol 2000; 20: 197–198.
    1. Kesikburun S, Uran A, Demir Y, et al. Transient osteoporosis of the hip and hyperbaric oxygen therapy: a report of two cases. Turk J Phys Med Rehab 2015; 61: 80–83.
    1. Brooks AG, Domb BG. Acetabular labral tear and postpartum hip pain. Obstet Gynecol 2012; 120: 1093–1098.
    1. Kanakaris NK, Roberts CS, Giannoudis PV. Pregnancy-related pelvic girdle pain: an update. BMC Med 2011. February 15; 9: 15.
    1. Shim JH, Oh DW. Case report: physiotherapy strategies for a woman with symphysis pubis diastasis occurring during labour. Physiotherapy 2012; 98: 89–91.
    1. Padua L, Aprile I, Caliandro P, et al. Symptoms and neurophysiological picture of carpal tunnel syndrome in pregnancy. Clin Neurophysiol 2001; 112: 1946–1951.
    1. Stolp-Smith KA, Pascoe MK, Ogburn PL., Jr. Carpal tunnel syndrome in pregnancy: frequency, severity, and prognosis. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 1998; 79: 1285–1287.
    1. Sapuan J, Yam KF, Noorman MF, et al. Carpal tunnel syndrome in pregnancy - you need to ask! Singapore Med J 2012; 53: 671–675.
    1. Osterman M, Ilyas AM, Matzon JL. Carpal tunnel syndrome in pregnancy. Orthop Clin North Am 2012; 43: 515–520.

Source: PubMed

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

3
Subscribe