Around 20% of pregnant women report having PGP, a condition where pain is felt in the buttocks, sometimes accompanied by pain in the anterior pelvis. When PGP occurs, there may be a sensation of a stabbing and/or dull pain. Occasionally radiating pains are felt down the back of the leg but not down to the foot. It is usually made worse by prolonged standing, sitting or when turning in bed. Known risk factors are previous lower back pain, and/or previous PGP and previous trauma to the pelvis.
Often, medical help is required and doctors recommend further counselling, light exercises and the use of a pelvic belt to support the body. PGP is one of the most common causes of sick leave during pregnancy. In some 7% of women, PGP continues after the pregnancy and is so serious that women go on long-term sick leave and are unable to perform simple physical tasks such as climbing up a flight of stairs or lifting objects from the ground.
115 women were selected from 25 antenatal care units within the Västra Götland region in Göteborg, Sweden and were studied between June 2006 and May 2007. All participants received 12 acupuncture treatments, each lasting 30mins twice a week for the first four weeks and then once a week for another four weeks. 58 women received standard treatment (advice, home exercise programmes to strengthen the abdominal and gluteal muscles and a pelvic belt) and acupuncture and 57 had standard treatment and non-penetrating sham acupuncture (using a blunt acupuncture needle). Women kept treatment diaries and completed questionnaires about pain experienced during and after treatment on a visual analogue scale (VAS) and this was measured against the Disability Rating Index (DRI) and the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI).
Researchers found that although there was no difference in the lessening of pain between groups, women who had had acupuncture were more able to take part in routine activities which they could not before treatment began. Women who had acupuncture were also more able to engage in regular work.
Co-author Dr Helen Elden, from the Institute of Clinical Sciences at the Sahlgrenska Academy in Göteborg, Sweden, said, “This study shows that acupuncture had no superior effect compared with non-penetrating sham acupuncture on pain relief but improved women’s functional ability to perform daily activities.
“We therefore believe that the data suggests that needle penetration, at least to some degree, is one important component in acupuncture therapy and provides additional support for the use of acupuncture as one of several means of treatment of PGP in pregnant women.”
Professor Philip Steer, BJOG editor-in-chief, said “Complementary therapies like acupuncture may help relieve certain types of pain but their efficacy remains to be proven and more research is needed.
“For some women the hope of pain relief is enough reason for them to undergo alternative treatments. The results of this study are encouraging as it shows that acupuncture could improve the lives of women with PGP. However, women should consult their doctors and midwives and not abandon traditional medicine.”
Ends
Notes
BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology is owned by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) but is editorially independent and published monthly by Wiley-Blackwell. The journal features original, peer-reviewed, high-quality medical research in all areas of obstetrics and gynaecology worldwide. Please quote ‘BJOG' or ‘BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology' when referring to the journal.
For more information, please contact the RCOG press office on 020 7772 6446 or 020 7772 6357.
Reference
Elden H, Fagevik-Olsen M, Ostgaard H, Stener-Victorin E, Hagberg H. ‘Acupuncture as an adjunct to standard treatment for pelvic girdle pain in pregnant women: randomised double-blinded controlled trial comparing acupuncture with non-penetrating sham acupuncture.’ BJOG 2008; DOI: 10.1111/j.1471-0528.2008.01904.x.
