A recent study published in Hormone Molecular Biology and Clinical Investigation suggests that exercise may help minimise the backache during pregnancy. This prospective control study assessed the efficacy of an exercise program in reducing back pain in pregnant women.

The study included 145 pregnant women with low risk and scored more than 20 for functional limitation assessment. The visual analogue scale (VAS) was used to assess the severity of back pain. The Oswestry disability questionnaire (ODQ) was used to determine the functional limitation. The study population was educated about the back-pain care measures. Paracetamol was prescribed for adjunct analgesia. The intervention group also underwent a session with a trained physiotherapist. Subsequently, every participant undertook a similar questionnaire regarding pain intensity and functional limitation assessment after six weeks’ post-intervention.

The study findings reported a significant reduction in the VAS score and showed improvement in functional ODQ score in the intervention group. The median usage of Paracetamol as analgesia to control back pain in the control group was 500 mg higher than the intervention group. A weak association was noted in case of age, parity, duration of back pain, and body mass index with functional ODQ score at six weeks following the intervention.

The study concluded that an exercise program could be prescribed to reduce the intensity of back pain, limit the analgesic usage and to improve functional ability.