Back pain in pregnancy: 1-year follow-up of untreated cases.

Back Pain (BP) is one of the most frequent symptoms during the last period of pregnancy, and high incidence has been described in several studies. Until now no wide, multicenter and prospective clinical studies on the natural course of BP after pregnancy have been available. We performed a multicenter follow-up study in a sample of pregnant women using the Italian validated version of the Roland questionnaire to assess the evolution of BP after pregnancy and identify prognostic factors. Each center had to re-evaluate at least 75% of the initially enrolled women, with latency of 1 year after delivery. At the follow-up, we acquired substantial clinical data concerning the post-delivery period. The evaluation of symptom evolution was based on the Roland questionnaire. At follow-up, 53% of re-evaluated women had no BP symptoms. Moreover, there was a significant improvement of patient-oriented assessment in women who suffered BP after delivery. With regard to the predictive factors, the presence of BP before pregnancy implied a 3.1-fold higher probability of improvement after delivery. In conclusion, women without history of BP before pregnancy and who complain of these symptoms during pregnancy require greater attention, because they have a lower possibility for improvement. Conversely, in women with a history of BP, pregnancy represents a transient period of worsening symptoms, probably due to the temporary para-physiological mechanical condition.