Pregnancy and back pain among upper class nigerian women.

A study was conducted to look into the characteristics of back pain among pregnant upper class Nigerian women and to examine the reducing influence of antenatal physiotherapy. Of the 99 subjects who completed the questionnaire, 52 had attended antenatal physiotherapy and 47 had not. The results showed that a total of 89 (89.8%) had experienced back pain within the 'very mild' to 'severe' range; onset of pain was usually around the sixth and seventh month of pregnancy and was mostly felt in the evening. Increasing parity and age seemed to be associated with increasing back pain. Pain was aggravated by tiredness, and about one third of the subjects obtained relief by placing a small pillow behind their back when sitting. Subjects who attended antenatal physiotherapy fared significantly better than those who did not as regards the prevalence of back pain.