Prevalence and Associated Factors of Musculoskeletal Pain in Pregnancy

During the nine months of pregnancy, female body is affected by a number of hormonal and anatomical changes. Most of these, may cause or contribute to the musculoskeletal disorders such as low back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, and other painful conditions.The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence and associated risk factors of musculoskeletal pain during the pregnancy. In this cross-sectional discriptive study, 235 pregnant women were chosen by convenience sampling method in women referred to health centers and clinics between May and June 2011, using a standardized questionnaire with 100 questions to assess the prevalence and associated factors of musculoskeletal pain in pregnancy. Data were analysed by descriptive and inferential statitics, using SPSS v. 11.5. Among the musculoskeletal pain coditions, in pregnant women, back pain with a prevalence of 58.2% (121 cases) is a common musculoskeletal pain. Among the risk factors of LBP based on univariate logistic regression tests, job satisfaction (OR=0.17), job positions (OR=1.13), body mass index (OR=0.39), 95% quality of lif (OR=0.14), and history of previos LBP (OR=2.54) were significantly associated with LBP in pregnancy (P<0.05). Given the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain, especially low back pain in pregnant women, education before and during pregnancy can reduce the severity of these problems at this time. And promate women health, during pregnancy and years after that.