Is pregnancy a major risk factor for musculoskeletal pain? A cross-sectional study

Musculoskeletal pain during pregnancy is commonly considered prevalent, though evidence primarily comes from cross-sectional studies lacking appropriate control groups.

To examine the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain among pregnant women compared to non-pregnant women as a reference group.

Observational cross-sectional.

1651 women (589 pregnant, 1062 non-pregnant) in Israel completed an online survey using the Hebrew Extended Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire and SF-12. Chi-square tests and logistic regression analyses examined associations between pregnancy status and pain prevalence while controlling for confounding factors including age, BMI, education, employment, lifestyle factors, and medical history.

Pregnant women reported higher rates of upper back pain (67.1 % vs. 56.4 %, p = 0.02) and lower back pain (73.9 % vs. 64.9 %, p = 0.004), while non-pregnant women reported more hip/thigh pain (54.5 % vs. 48.4 %, p < 0.001). However, after controlling for confounders in multivariate regression, these associations became non-significant. Pregnant women had significantly lower physical component scores (43.31 ± 9.33 vs. 48.08 ± 8.41, p < 0.001). Physical health status (PCS-12) was the strongest predictor of current low back pain (OR = 0.92, 95 % CI: 0.90-0.94, p < 0.001), pregnancy status showed no independent association (OR = 1.19, 95 % CI: 0.77-1.84, p = 0.430). Smoking emerged as a significant risk factor (OR = 2.02, 95 % CI: 1.03-3.96, p = 0.042).

This study challenges the assumption that pregnancy inherently causes higher musculoskeletal pain prevalence. Physical health status plays a more substantial role than pregnancy status per se, highlighting the multifactorial nature of pregnancy-related musculoskeletal pain.