Physical activity level and musculoskeletal pain in physician mothers after childbirth

Abstract

Objective: Musculoskeletal pain is a common health problem in women, especially during pregnancy and the postpartum period, a possible reason for which is the lack of adequate physical activity. Nonetheless, very few studies have determined the relationship between physical activity level and musculoskeletal pain. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between physical activity level and musculoskeletal pain in physician mothers within two years after childbirth.

Material and Methods: This study was an online cross-sectional self-report survey. An online questionnaire was administered to physician mothers via the online “Physician Mothers” social group in Facebook, with 3,787 members. A total of 127 participants responded to the questionnaire, which consisted of three parts, namely, sociodemographic information, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form, and the Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire.

Results: The average age of the participants was 32.5±3.5 years. The physical activity level turned out to be inactive in 91 participants (71%), moderate in 30 (24%), and vigorous in six (5%). The most frequent musculoskeletal complaint after childbirth was back pain (n=112, 88.2%), followed by lower back pain (n=109, 85.8%), neck pain (n=70, 55.1%), and hip pain (n=52, 40.9%). There was no significant relationship between physical activity level and musculoskeletal pain in physician mothers (p=0.441).

Conclusion: In this study, physician mothers were found to be mostly physically inactive, and their activity level was not observed to be related to their musculoskeletal pain.

Cite this article as: Demir Benli M. Physical activity level and musculoskeletal pain in physician mothers after childbirth. Turk J Sports Med. 2021;56(3):133-7; http://dx.doi.org/10.47447/tjsm.0554

The approval for this study was obtained from Institutional Ethics Committee of Health Sciences University, Bozyaka Education and Research Hospital, İzmir, Turkey (Decision no: 2020-237 Date: 07.06.2020).

Concept - M.D.B.; Design - M.D.B.; Supervision - M.D.B.; Materials - M.D.B.; Data Collection and/or Processing - M.D.B.; Analysis and Interpretation - M.D.B.; Literature Review - M.D.B.; Writing Manuscript - M.D.B.; Critical Reviews - M.D.B.

The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to authorship and/or publication of the article.

The authors received no financial support for the research and/or publication of this article.