2022 Volume 13 Issue 1 Pages 51-56
Introduction: We investigated the correlation of daily life activities and patient characteristics with decreased health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in postpartum women with lumbar or pelvic pain.
Methods: A total of 37 postpartum women with lumbar or pelvic pain were enrolled in this study. For assessing HRQOL, the physical component summary (PCS) and mental component summary (MCS) of the SF-8 Health Survey were used. For assessing daily life activities, 9 subscales of the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) were used.
Results: We found that 89% and 65% of the patients had PCS and MCS scores below the national standard, respectively. The scores of PCS were significantly negatively correlated with 4 subscales of the ODI, including lifting, sitting, social life, and personal care, and with older age. No significant correlations were found between the scores of MCS, subscales of the ODI, and patient characteristics.
Conclusions: The decreased PCS scores could be a result of the disturbance in usual behavior and movements after childbirth, such as flexion in older postpartum women with lumbar or pelvic pain.
