Complementary and alternative medicine for low-back pain in pregnancy: a cross-sectional survey.

OBJECTIVE To identify common treatments used for low-back pain (LBP) during pregnancy. DESIGN A two-part anonymous survey. SETTING/LOCATION New Haven, Connecticut. SUBJECTS Pregnant women and providers of prenatal health care (nurse educators, nurse midwives, and obstetricians). RESULTS We found that the majority of pregnant women who participated in our survey (61.7%) reported that they would accept complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapy as treatment for LBP during pregnancy. Similarly, 61% of providers of prenatal health care in our sample reported that they would consider using CAM as treatment for LBP during pregnancy. Massage (61.4%), acupuncture (44.6%), relaxation (42.6%), yoga (40.6%), and chiropractic (36.6%) were the most common CAM therapies recommended for LBP in pregnancy by the providers of prenatal health care in our sample. CONCLUSIONS This two-part survey study found that both providers of prenatal health care and pregnant women in New Haven county are likely to use CAM treatments for pregnancy-induced LBP. Further investigation should focus on whether it is a nationwide phenomenon, as well as if various CAM therapies are an efficacious treatment for LBP during pregnancy.

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