Back pain during pregnancy: a longitudinal study

The goal of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence of back pain during four different periods of pregnancy and its action on each woman during this stage.

The sample comprises of a group of 49 pregnant women aged between 20 and 39 years. The presence of back pain symptoms and severity were evaluated at 12, 20, 32 and 37 weeks of gestation in each woman, using one question of the NIH Record Activity (ACTRE).

The ANOVA for repeated measures was used to compare the four moments of evaluation (12 weeks, 20 weeks, 32 weeks and 37 weeks) in relation to back pain. A significant difference between the pain scores over the four moments were observed, being that higher pain scores were noted at 12, 32 and 37 weeks of gestation. We also verified that at 12 weeks of gestation 71.4% of women had back pain, while at 20 weeks only 16.3% confirmed pain. At 32 weeks 91.7% of women reported pain and at 37 weeks, 98% reported the same.

We found that back pain is prevalent during pregnancy and its intensity varies throughout this period.