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The objective of this cross-sectional study was to explore the associations between pain locations, responses to the posterior pelvic pain provocation (P4) test, responses to the active straight leg raise (ASLR) test and disability in late pregnancy. 283 women in gestation week 30 (mean age 31.3 years; 59% nullipara) completed a questionnaire (including pain drawing and Disability Rating Index, DRI). A physiotherapist blinded for the questionnaire data assessed responses to the P4 and ASLR tests. The pain drawing was used to: 1) distinguish between Pelvic girdle pain (PGP) and low back pain (LBP); 2) discriminate between pain locations within the pelvic area. A large variation was found in DRI within each pain location group. Women with PGP were more afflicted than the women with LBP and those without PGP. Highest DRI score was reported by women having combined symphysis pain and bilateral posterior pain. The multivariate analyses showed that results from P4 and ASLR contributed independently to DRI. Taken together, pain location combined with responses to P4 and ASLR tests are relevant when evaluating affliction in pregnant women with possible PGP.

Pain related to the pelvic joints is common among pregnant women in Norway and may cause serious functional problems.

This study aims to investigate how fatigue affects adults with verified Marfan syndrome (MFS) in their daily lives, by examining fatigue levels and prevalence of severe fatigue compared to the general Norwegian population and individuals with other comparable chronic conditions. We investigated associations between socio-demographic characteristics, Marfan-related health problems, pain and fatigue. A cross-sectional study was conducted, using a postal questionnaire including the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) and questions on socio-demographic characteristics, Marfan-related health problems and pain. One hundred seventeen persons with MFS were invited to participate, 73 answered (62%). Participants reported significantly higher FSS scores and prevalence of severe fatigue compared to the general Norwegian population and patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but lower than for other chronic conditions. Participants with chronic pain reported higher fatigue scores than those without chronic pain. Participants on disability benefits reported higher fatigue scores than participants who were working or enrolled in higher education. Marfan-related health problems like aortic dissection and use of blood pressure medication were not significantly associated with fatigue. In multivariable regression analyses chronic pain and employment status were significantly associated with fatigue. The final multivariable model explained 24% of the variance in fatigue scores. Our results show that fatigue is common in MFS patients and that it interferes with their daily lives. Chronic pain and employment status show significant associations to fatigue. This implies that fatigue is important to address when meeting MFS patients in clinical practice. There is need for more research on fatigue in Marfan syndrome.

BackgroundRecent studies have shown high prevalence rates for pelvic girdle pain (PGP) in pregnancy. Some risk factors for developing PGP have been suggested, but the evidence is weak. Furthermore there is almost no data on how findings from clinical examinations are related to subsequent PGP. The main purpose for this study was to study the associations between socio-demographical, psychological and clinical factors measured at inclusion in early pregnancy and disability or pain intensity in gestation week 30.MethodsThis is a prospective cohort study following women from early to late pregnancy. Eligible women were recruited at their first attendance at the maternity care unit. 268 pregnant women answered questionnaires and underwent clinical examinations in early pregnancy and in gestation week 30. We used scores on disability and pain intensity in gestation week 30 as outcome measures to capture the affliction level of PGP. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to study the associations between potential risk factors measured in early pregnancy and disability or pain intensity in gestation week 30.ResultsSelf-reported pain locations in the pelvis, positive posterior pelvic pain provocation (P4) test and a sum of pain provocation tests in early pregnancy were significantly associated with disability and pain intensity in gestation week 30 in a multivariable statistic model. In addition, distress was significantly associated with disability. The functional active straight leg raise (ASLR) test, fear avoidance beliefs and the number of pain sites were not significantly associated with either disability or pain intensity.ConclusionsThe results suggest that a clinical examination, including a few tests, performed in early pregnancy may identify women at risk of a more severe PGP late in pregnancy. The identification of clinical risk factors may provide a foundation for development of targeted prevention strategies.