Prevalence of low back pain-related disability in postpartum women in Slovakia
Katarína Oravcová1, Michaela Hroncová2, Magdaléna Hagovska3
1Department of Physiatry, Balneology, and Medical Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University, Košice, Slovakia.
Background:
There is currently a lack of research focusing on pain-related functional impairment during the postpartum period. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of low back pain (LBP)-related disability among postpartum women in the Slovak Republic and to examine the relationship between LBP-related disability, pelvic girdle pain (PGP), and pelvic floor discomfort.
Methods:
This cross-sectional study included 791 women between 12 weeks and 1 year postpartum. Data were collected using the standardised Slovak versions of the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), Pelvic Girdle Questionnaire (PGQ), and Pelvic Floor Impact Questionnaire-Short Form 7 (PFIQ-7), all of which demonstrated high internal consistency (Cronbach's α > 0.9).
Results:
The mean age of the participants was 31.43 years. The sample was dichotomised using the standard ODI cut-off score of 20% to identify clinically relevant LBP-related disability; 224 women met this criterion, whereas 567 did not. Among women with clinically relevant LBP-related disability, the PFIQ‑7 and PGQ scores indicated relatively low absolute levels of pelvic floor and pelvic girdle discomfort, suggesting only modest clinical effect sizes. The overall prevalence of clinically relevant LBP-related disability, as measured by the ODI, was 28.3%, ranging from 23.7% to 50.0% across age groups.
Conclusion:
Approximately one in four women in the study population experienced clinically relevant LBP-related disability. Although a significant association was observed between LBP-related functional impairment, PGP, and pelvic floor discomfort, the cross-sectional study design precludes any conclusions regarding causality.
