Low back pain in women before and after menopause

Abstract

Low back pain is a massive problem in modern population, both in social and economic terms. It affects large numbers of women, especially those aged 45-60. Going through a perimenopausal period is associated with many symptoms, including low back pain.This paper is a review of published research on the association between the perimenopausal age and low back pain. PubMed databases were investigated. After the search was narrowed to “menopausal status, back pain”, 35 studies were found. Seven studies, which suited our area of research best, were thoroughly analyzed. All studies show increased pain when women enter this period of their life. There is no agreement among researchers regarding which stage of menopause is the most burdensome.Examples of possible treatments and physiotherapeutic methods targeting low back pain are also presented. Physiotherapeutic procedures used to treat low back pain include exercises in safe positions, balance exercises, manual therapy, massage and physical measures.

Twelve‐year follow‐up of chronic pain in twins: Changes in environmental and genetic influence over time

“…Research has shown how perimenopausal stage of life is associated with an increased incidence of chronic pain. Given that the sample consisted of elder women only it is possible that changes in menopausal status could have contributed to variation in pain (for an overview, see Kozinoga et al., ). Finally, a general problem with the twin design attenuation of associations due to random measurement error in exposure which will be higher in the within‐pair estimate, leading within‐pair associations to be weaker than corresponding unpaired associations, even in the absence of confounding.…”

Acupuncture and Neural Mechanism in the Management of Low Back Pain—An Update

“…This increasing trend of the rate of LBP is recorded worldwide and might be related to women’s involvement in the workforce, while their house chores do not diminish [ 69 , 70 ]. LBP’s risk factors specific to women comprise exposure to musculoskeletal loads due to pregnancy [ 71 , 72 , 73 ]; menstruation [ 74 , 75 ]; menopausal [ 66 , 76 , 77 ]; hormone [ 66 , 78 ]; osteoporosis [ 68 , 79 ]; low bone mineral density [ 80 , 81 ]; and conditions associated with ageing [ 59 , 82 ]. In contrast, certain studies show that men have a higher rate of LBP [ 1 , 2 ], especially those involved in heavy physical work and repetitive movements [ 1 , 2 , 6 , 38 , 39 ].…”

Acupuncture – Basic Research and Clinical Application

“…This increasing trend of the rate of LBP is recorded worldwide and might be related to women's involvement in the workforce, while their house chores do not diminish [69,70]. LBP's risk factors specific to women comprise exposure to musculoskeletal loads due to pregnancy [71][72][73]; menstruation [74,75]; menopausal [66,76,77]; hormone [66,78]; osteoporosis [68,79]; low bone mineral density [80,81]; and conditions associated with ageing [59,82]. In contrast, certain studies show that men have a higher rate of LBP [1,2], especially those involved in heavy physical work and repetitive movements [1,2,6,38,39].…”