Low back pain during pregnancy in Iranian women: Prevalence and risk factors

Low back pain (LBP) is a common and often disabling condition that deserves attention. Although LBP during pregnancy is a common clinical problem, only one study was found documenting prevalence of LBP during pregnancy in Iran. No investigation evaluated the diagnostic value of possible risk factors. The aims of the present, cross-sectional study were 1) to ascertain the prevalence of LBP of Iranian women during pregnancy and compare to other ethnic/cultural groups and 2) identify risk factors associated with LBP during pregnancy in Iranian women. One hundred three women were interviewed in the obstetric ward of a university hospital within 48 hours after giving birth. Possible risk factor associations were studied by using nonparametric tests, and sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive, and likelihood ratio values were calculated for the interview questions about previous low back pain, LBP during menstruation, and trauma during pregnancy. The prevalence of LBP during pregnancy was found to be 57.3%, which is similar to most other countries. Pain onset was most frequently reported in the third trimester of pregnancy (40.7%) and was often reported to be in the low back area (71.2%). Almost half of the patients reported their pain as being moderate (44.1%). The logistic regression model demonstrated that the LBP during menstruation predicts a high risk for LBP during the current pregnancy. The study showed that LBP during menstruation and previous LBP may be useful tests for ruling out and ruling in LBP during pregnancy, respectively.