Pregnant women fail to relieve back pain

Less than 10 percent of pregnant women with musculoskeletal back pain were satisfied with the symptom relief they obtained, a U.S. study found.

The study, published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, says despite the high prevalence of musculoskeletal pain during pregnancy, few women in underserved populations receive treatment for their lower back pain.

In addition, the researchers at Logan College of Chiropractic and the Washington University School of Medicine, both in St. Louis, found some 80 percent of women reporting sleep disturbances had back pain, and three-quarters of the women with pain also used pain medication.

"We saw a direct association between sleep deficiency and back pain," the study said. "These results raise the question of whether or not the high incidence of pain medication use reflects a lack of education about potential risks of medications, or an inability for pregnant women to cope with pain."