Effects of Exercise on Pregnancy-Related Lumbopelvic Pain: A Systematic Review=運動對於懷孕相關下背與骨盆疼痛之成效

Pregnancy-related lumbopelvic pain (PR-LP) is prevalent worldwide and may persistent after delivery. PR-LP also affected women's sleep, daily life, work, quality of life, and even mother-infant attachment. Recently, more and more studies indicated that exercise might be effective in reducing PR -LP. This study aims (1) to systematically review intervention studies involving exercise in reducing PR-LP, including the methods, outcome variables, instruments, and results, and (2) to analyze the strength, weakness, and future directions. According to the systematic review manual developed by Kingdon, Baker, and Lavender (2006), this study searched intervention studies in the Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycInfo, CEPS, and Index to Taiwan Periodical Literature System of the National Central Library , with setting key words "pregnancy" and "pain" from year 1997 to 2010. Eight studies were included and analyzed after screening by inclusion and exclusion criteria. We found that these studies all adopted randomized control trial design. Most of these studies used pain intensity , functional status, and quality of life as outcome indicators . Stabilizing exercise, water aerobics, and pelvic tilt exercise could improve PR-LP effectively.