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Cheatography

Pregnancy Related LBP Cheat Sheet (DRAFT) by

Pregnancy related LBP - management, Hx, red flags etc

This is a draft cheat sheet. It is a work in progress and is not finished yet.

PRLBP

- Affects up to 80% of pregnant women
- High recurrence rate
- Functional stress (weight gain, gait changes, postural strains due to ligame­ntous laxity)
- Anterior pelvic tilt and lx hyperl­ordosis - strain on ligaments, discs, lx facets and SI joints
- Abdo muscles stretched
- Hormone relaxin (released by ovaries)
- Usually starts at the 5th and 7th Month and sometimes the 1st trimester

Presen­tation

- LS pain which radiates to buttock and posterior thigh
- Provoked by standing, sitting, coughing, sneezing, straining
- Gets worst at the end of the day sometimes night pain
- Oswestry and FABQ

Red Flags

- Lighth­eadness
- SOB
- Chest pain
- Headache
- Calf pain/s­welling
- Decreased fetal movement
- Neuro involv­ement
- Fever
- Chills
- Bleeding
- Spotting
- Unusual discharge
- Cramping
- High blood pressure
- Sudden onset pelvic pain

PE

+ve SI tests (distr­action, thigh thrust, compre­ssion, sacral thrust)
+ve ASLR
+ve Gaeslens
+ve Kemps
- +ve Thomas test (pelvic anteve­rsion = tight iliopsoas)

DDx

- Lx segemental joint dysfun­ction
- SI joint dysfun­ction
- Lx facet syndrome
- LS strain­/sprain
- Lx disc
- Degene­ration
- Lx instab­ility
- Hip pathology
- F#
- Infection
- Neoplasm
- Diastasis rectus abdominis

Management

- Education and reassu­rance
- SMT
- PIR of tight muscles (piri and iliopsoas)
- Exercises (pelvic tilts, knee to chest, sciatic nerve floss, hammy stretches, kegel exercises, stability exercises of gluts, QL, abdominal wall and intrinsic spine muscles
- Gentle aerobic exercises (water aerobics and yoga)
- Round ligament STW (gentle release)
- Advice (take frequent breaks from sittin­g/s­tan­ding, small footstool, sleeping with pilllow between knees whilst side lying)
- SI/pre­gnancy support belt
- Pelvic floor streng­thening