What is it about?
Researchers from Ulster University want to find out more about women’s experiences of low back pain (LBP) during their pregnancy and / or after birth. There are some studies suggesting that pregnant women often feel frustrated that their LBP symptoms are not taken seriously by health care professionals, but we know very little about the true extent of this problem in Northern Ireland, what treatments are available, and how helpful women think they are. Women do not have to have LBP to take part, as we also want to find out if there are any reasons explaining why it develops in some women and does not in others. This study involves pregnant women completing a secure online questionnaire at four different time points, two during their pregnancy and two after their baby(ies) is (are) born?
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Why is it important?
A recent survey carried out by the applicants has suggested that pregnant women are typically expected to manage LBP themselves, typically resulting in the use of over-the-counter painkillers of which there are concerns about the effects on the unborn foetus. This project will provide essential quantitative data relating to the prevalence of LBP, severity of symptoms, referral rates to physiotherapy and other treatment(s), and the perceived outcomes within a prospective sample of pregnant women. An integral theme of this project involves harnessing the potential of routine use of patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) in physiotherapy practice. Several generic and condition-specific PROMs will be used to provide important information relating to the impact of LBP, and any treatment(s) received for it, on women’s lives (during pregnancy and after birth).
Perspectives
There is little known about the true extent of LBP during pregnancy and beyond, and the potential knock-on effect this 'might' have on LBP in the general population. Indeed, many pregnant women are led to believe that LBP is a 'normal' part of pregnancy. As a result, they try to self-manage their symptoms, which often includes the use of over-the-counter painkillers that may pose a risk to the unborn baby. This project will establish whether it is feasible to collect information from a prospective sample of women over four time-points and, if so, will provide preliminary data about why LBP may develop (and persist) in some pregnant women but not in others.
Dr Sarah Dianne Liddle
University of Ulster
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Watching Pregnancy Project (WPP) Investigating pregnancy-related low back pain, November 2016, Springer Science + Business Media,
DOI: 10.1186/isrctn17454132.
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