PREVALENCE OF LUMBO-PELVIC PAIN AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN IN THIRD TRIMESTER

Abstract

Background: Pregnancy is linked with great biomechanical changes having tendencies to create musculoskeletal adaptations. Lumbo-pelvic pain (LPP) is the most intrusive of all these complications, which adversely affects mobility and quality of life in the third trimester. Purpose: To assess the frequency of lumbo-pelvic pains and their functional effects on third trimester pregnant women. Methodology: Cross-sectional study was done on 150 third trimester pregnant women. Convenient sampling was used to select participants from Civil Hospital, Blood Bank Hospital, Red Crescent Hospital, and Al Faisal Hospital, Sukkur. The Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire was used in measuring functional disability. Results: The prevalence of LPP was found to be 88% (n=132). Among these, 42% of participants reported experiencing pain for 1–3 months, 26% for 4–7 months, and 20% for more than 7 months, even after delivery. Pain intensity was predominantly moderate (74%), with mild (8.7%) and severe (5.3%) cases also reported. According to the Oswestry Disability Index, 48% of participants had moderate disability, 37.3% had severe disability, and 1.4% were categorized as crippled. Conclusion: It is concluded that lumbo-pelvic pain is very common during the third trimester and causes a lot of functional impairments. The moderate-to-severe disability rates are high, and this fact calls in the necessity of specific physical therapy programs to enhance maternal health.