Low back pain during pregnancy: Prevalence, risk factors and association with daily activities among pregnant women in urban Blantyre, Malawi

Abstract

Introduction Low back pain (LBP) is a significant musculoskeletal problem during pregnancy with potential to negatively affect the woman's quality of life. Data on LBP among pregnant women in Malawi is almost non-existent. We investigated the prevalence and risk factors of LBP and its association with functional activities in pregnant women in Malawi. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study in Blantyre, Malawi, from December 2017 to January 2018. Participants were drawn from low-risk antenatal clinics in selected local health facilities. Written informed consent was sourced from study participants, permission was granted at each study site and the study received ethics approval from the College of Medicine Research Ethics Committee (COMREC). Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data. Categorical variables were summarized as frequencies and percentages. The association between occurrence of LBP and selected factors was assessed using the Chi-Square test (X 2 ) (α=5%) followed by a multiple logistic regression. Odds ratios (OR) and their 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Results We interviewed 404 pregnant women; the mean age of respondents was 25.83 years old ( SD: ±5.91 ). Prevalence of LBP in pregnancy was 62% ( n=249 ); 172 (69%) of these reported LBP for the first time during the current pregnancy. Gestational age was significantly associated with presence of LBP ( P= 0.03 ). LBP was associated with the women's sleep patterns, mobility, lifting techniques and sexual activities. However, a reasonable high proportion of those with LBP (34%) did not seek care for their low back pain. Conclusion LBP is highly prevalent and an important clinical condition among pregnant women in Blantyre, Malawi. Given the significant effect of LBP on quality of life, health workers need to be proactive in identifying LBP and provide the appropriate management.

Pelvic floor muscle training programme in pregnant Nepalese women—a feasibility study

“…The prevalence estimate of 34% of women reporting PGP and/or LBP was lower than most other comparable studies (40,50,73,206,207,217). Table 6 provides an overview of previous studies, showing a wide range of prevalence estimates, with studies reporting 31% to 90% for LBP, 2% to 74% for PGP and 25% to 86% for PGP and/or LBP (29, 30, 42, 50-52, 69, 198, 206, 217, 232, 233).…”

“…The Nepali ODI has shown acceptable reliability in Nepalese people with LBP (177) and has been used in a previous study in Nepal (205). Moreover, the ODI has been widely used in pregnancy-related PGP and LBP studies (34,35,50,(206)(207)(208) and has shown good internal consistency, testretest reliability and construct validity for pregnant women with PGP (174). Since we probably have included women with both PGP and LBP, the use of both questionnaires enabled us to cover disabilities from both conditions.…”

“…Women with psychiatric diagnoses were excluded as they were assumed to lack the capacity for decision-making, potentially leading to inaccurate information or low quality of data. Exclusion of participants with psychiatric disorders is common in many studies (206,217,218). In addition, in paper III, pregnancy-related complications such as pre-eclampsia, risk of miscarriage, vaginal bleeding and fever were excluded because we used EMG biofeedback to teach PFM contractions at the first visit.…”

The Factors Influencing Sleep Quality of Pregnant Women in Yogyakarta, Indonesia

“…Khanna et al [20] added that LBP occurs due to the size of the abdomen that has increased. Lower back pain increases with increasing gestational age [21], while changes in the uterus causes the center of gravity of change [22]. The improper posture of the mother can cause additional fatigue and stretch in the body of pregnant women, especially in the area of the spine so that it can cause lower back pain [23].…”

Electrocatalytic Oxidation of Methanol by a Polymeric Ni Complex-Modified Electrode Prepared by a One-Step Cold-Plasma Process

“…Under the influence of plasma, the resulting catalysts can be very different from those prepared by conventional thermal means. This is the major reason that plasmas have been extensively applied for catalyst preparation (Raoof et al, 2013;Wang et al, 2018). In this experiment, the precursors with metallic complex will be vaporized in a hightemperature environment.…”