title: Women's experiences of low back pain during pregnancy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study investigated the self-reported prevalence and impact of low back pain (LBP) during pregnancy in primiparous and multiparous women, and their treatment-seeking rationales and experiences, including their use of physiotherapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  A sample of 105 post-partum women was recruited. All participants answered a questionnaire; women who experienced LBP during pregnancy (n=71) continue in the study and later they were also interviewed. Content analysis, descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Reports of LBP were common (n=71; 67.6%) and slightly more frequent in primiparous (n=40; 56.3%) than multiparous (n=31; 43.7%) women. Multiparous women with LBP were significantly older (p< 0.001) and reported more sleep disturbances (p=0.026) than primiparous women with LBP. LBP prevented women performing their daily activities (n=41; 57.7%) and worsened with the advance of pregnancy (n=55; 77.5%), yet 93.0% (n=66) of these women received no treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  LBP is a prevalent and important clinical condition affecting the daily life of many pregnant women. Nevertheless, few women seek any treatment and physiotherapy is rarely considered. Given the significant impact on quality of life, health professionals need to be proactive in asking women about LBP.
authors.affiliation: Association of Parents and Friends of the Person with Mental Disability, Rua Padre Luís Pereira, Portugal.
authors.forename: Maria João
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Mota
authors.affiliation: São Bernardo Clinic, Aveiro, Portugal.
authors.forename: Mirtha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cardoso
authors.affiliation: School of Health Technologies of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.
authors.forename: Andreia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Carvalho
authors.affiliation: School of Health Sciences, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal.
authors.forename: Alda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Marques
authors.affiliation: Center for Research and Development in Mathematics and Applications, Mathematics Department, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal.
authors.forename: Pedro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sá-Couto
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Demain
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D011788:Quality of Life; D057566:Self Report; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D063189:Symptom Assessment
keywords: Low back pain; multiparous; physiotherapy; pregnancy; primiparous