open access
Posture and low back pain during pregnancy — 3D study
open access
Abstract
Objectives: Back pain is a common complaint of pregnant women. The posture, curvatures of the spine and the center of gravity changes are considered as the mechanisms leading to pain. The study aimed to assess spinal curvatures and static postural characteristics with three-dimensional surface topography and search for relationships with the occurrence of back pain complaints among pregnant women.
Material and methods: The study was conducted from December 2012 to February 2014. Patients referred from University Clinic of Gynecology and Obstetrics were examined outpatient at the Posture Study Unit of Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology. Sixty-five women at 4–39 weeks of pregnancy were assessed and surveyed with Oswestry Disability Index; posture was evaluated using surface topography.
Results: The study confirmed that difficulties in sitting and standing are significant in the third trimester of the pregnancy. The overall tendency for significant lumbar curvature changes in pregnant women was not confirmed. Major changes in sagittal trunk inclination in relation to the plumb line were not observed in the study group.
Conclusions: The issue regarding how the pregnancy causes changes in spinal curvature and posture remains open for further studies. Presented method of 3D surface topography can reveal postural changes, but that requires several exams of each subject and strict follow-up of the series of cases.
Abstract
Objectives: Back pain is a common complaint of pregnant women. The posture, curvatures of the spine and the center of gravity changes are considered as the mechanisms leading to pain. The study aimed to assess spinal curvatures and static postural characteristics with three-dimensional surface topography and search for relationships with the occurrence of back pain complaints among pregnant women.
Material and methods: The study was conducted from December 2012 to February 2014. Patients referred from University Clinic of Gynecology and Obstetrics were examined outpatient at the Posture Study Unit of Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology. Sixty-five women at 4–39 weeks of pregnancy were assessed and surveyed with Oswestry Disability Index; posture was evaluated using surface topography.
Results: The study confirmed that difficulties in sitting and standing are significant in the third trimester of the pregnancy. The overall tendency for significant lumbar curvature changes in pregnant women was not confirmed. Major changes in sagittal trunk inclination in relation to the plumb line were not observed in the study group.
Conclusions: The issue regarding how the pregnancy causes changes in spinal curvature and posture remains open for further studies. Presented method of 3D surface topography can reveal postural changes, but that requires several exams of each subject and strict follow-up of the series of cases.
Keywords
pregnancy, posture, back pain
About this articleTitle
Posture and low back pain during pregnancy — 3D study
Journal
Issue
Article type
Research paper
Pages
575-580
Published online
2016-08-31
Page views
6478
Article views/downloads
5952
DOI
Pubmed
Bibliographic record
Ginekol Pol 2016;87(8):575-580.
Keywords
pregnancy
posture
back pain
Authors
Wojciech M. Glinkowski
Paweł Tomasik
Katarzyna Walesiak
Michał Głuszak
Karolina Krawczak
Jakub Michoński
Anna Czyżewska
Agnieszka Żukowska
Robert Sitnik
Mirosław Wielgoś
