title: Effects of a back-pain-reducing program during pregnancy for Korean women: a non-equivalent control-group pretest-posttest study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although many pregnant women experience back pain, it has not considered an important health problem. No study has investigated the effects of a back-pain-reducing program (BPRP) during pregnancy for Korean women.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a program designed to reduce back pain in pregnant women.
  
  
  METHODS
  A non-equivalent control-group pretest-posttest design was used. Pregnant women who attended an antenatal clinic and experienced back pain during their pregnancy were included in an intervention group (n=29), and their intensity of back pain, functional limitation and anxiety were compared with women in a control group from another antenatal clinic (n=27). The data were collected at three time points: prior to intervention, and 6 and 12 weeks after intervention.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At 12 weeks after intervention, the intensity of back pain experienced by the intervention group was significantly lower than that of the control group. However, there were no statistically significant differences between the groups with respect to functional limitations and anxiety.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings show that the pain-reducing program developed for this study was effective in reducing the intensity of back pain experienced by pregnant women. Promoting good posture and regular exercise can be recommended as a method to relieve back pain in pregnancy women. Further studies are needed to confirm the effect of the BPRP during pregnancy.
authors.affiliation: Gwangju Health College, South Korea.
authors.forename: Mi-Jung
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Shim
authors.forename: Young-Sook
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Hyun-Ei
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.forename: Jin-Sun
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D001416:Back Pain / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005081:Exercise Therapy / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007723:Korea; D016389:Maternal-Child Nursing; D024802:Nurse's Role; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011187:Posture; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011295:Prenatal Care; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012720:Severity of Illness Index