OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of Hip Help Hooray™ (HHH) on hip and lower back pain during pregnancy
RESULTS: HHH was shown to safely and significantly decrease hip and lower back pain in pregnant women.
STUDY DESIGN: We conducted a self-controlled study of 10 pregnant women between 24 and 34 weeks gestation who presented to the clinic complaining of hip and/or lower back pain. These women were given a pretest (see below). The subjects were then given HHH with verbal and written instructions regarding its use. The subjects were to return to the clinic in 2-4 weeks depending on their next routine visit. At that time, the subject was given a post test (see below).
BACKGROUND: Hip, pelvic and lower back pain are very common ailments a woman faces during pregnancy. 50-70% of pregnant women experience hip, pelvic, and/or lower back pain during pregnancy. There are several reasons as to why this occurs. The main reasons are 1) pregnancy weight gain 2) increase in pelvic pressure from the gravid uterus and 3) release of a hormone called relaxin that, among other things, relaxes the ligaments in the pelvis. Relaxin hormone is produced by the ovaries and placenta in varying levels throughout pregnancy. One of the many functions of this hormone is to relax the ligaments in the pelvis to help in the childbirth process. This relaxation occurs throughout pregnancy and not just during childbirth. In fact, the highest levels of this hormone are in the first trimester. HHH focuses on re-supporting those lax ligaments in the pelvis and lower back, re-aligning the hip joints and cradling the pelvis. Pregnant women after 20 weeks gestation are instructed to sleep on their side to optimize blood flow to the fetus. Side sleeping can cause an increase in pressure on the already laxed joints in the hips and pelvis; therefore worsening pain and making for an unrestful night’s sleep. HHH aims to hold the hip and pelvic joints in place while sleeping to alleviate this pain. HHH was also tested to see if the support at night translated into improvement in these pains during the day.
MATERIALS/METHODS: Women between 20 and 34 weeks gestation presenting to the clinic complaining of hip and lower back pain were offered enrollment in the study. Those accepting were given a pre-test questionnaire. The pre-test questionnaire consisted of rating hip pain and night and during the day on a scale of 0-10; rating lower back pain at night and during the day on a scale of 0-10. The subject also listed their current gestational age, patient’s age, pregnancy number, position slept in (side, front or back), any pre-existing hip or lower back pain (ie due to MVA, trauma or surgery), the methods currently used to help with pain (given options of body pillow, pillow between the knees, analgesics, pillow top mattress, sleep agent or other. The subject was then given the correct size HHH with verbal and written instructions on how it is used. The subject then returned in 2-4 weeks depending on the next routine visit. At which time the subject was given a post-test. The post-test consisted of rating hip pain at night and during the day on a scale of 0-10; rating lower back pain at night and during the day on a scale of 0-10, The subject also listed how many days they had HHH, how many nights they wore HHH, if they did not wear every night then how many nights worn and why did they not wear every night; was a pillow used between the knees, any other treatment options used; how easy was HHH to use on a scale of 0-10 (0 being easy and 10 difficult); how easy was HHH to wear throughout the night on a scale of 0-10; did the hip and lower back pain improve after using on a scale of 0-10 with 0 being worse 5 no change and 10 significantly improved.
RESULTS: Subjects were excluded from the study if they did not wear HHH. 10 subjects met the criteria for inclusion. The data was collected in the categories of hip pain at night (HPN), hip pain during the day (HPD), lower back pain at night (LBPN) and lower back pain during the day (LBPD). The pre-test ratings were compared with the post-test ratings. The difference between the 2 values were subtracted to give a positive number (improvement), 0 (no change) or a negative number (pain worsened). All results showed improvement in HPN, 7/10 showed improvement in LBPN, 9/10 showed improvement in HPD and 6/10 showed improvement in LBPD.
Hip pain at night (HPN) difference range 1-5. Mean was 3.2 with SD 1.25. Median was 3 and mode was 3. Hip pain during the day (HPD) difference range -1 to 3. Mean was 1.6 with SD of 0.8. Median was 2 and mode was 2. Lower back pain at night difference range was 0-6. Mean was 2.8 with SD 2.4. Median was 3 and mode was 2.5. Lower back pain during the day difference range was -1 to 6. Mean was 1.9 with SD of 1.98. Median was 2 and mode was 0.
Improvement in hip and LBP ratings were evaluated. Scale of 0-10 where 0 was symptoms worsened, 5 was no change and 10 was most improved. The median score was 8.5 with SD of 1.24 (95% CI 7.43 to 8.97 ). The mean was 8.2 and mode was 8. Range was 6-10.
DISCUSSION: Statistically significant improvement was seen in both hip pain and LBP at night. No one reported worsening of symptoms at night. An amazing finding was also seeing improvement in hip and LBP during the day. The one subject who reported a negative difference was from a 0 to 1 level during HPD and LBPN. All subjects reported an overall improvement in hip and LBP. No one reported no change or worsening of overall symptoms.
CONCLUSION: Hip Help Hooray™ provides a safe and effective treatment for hip and LBP during pregnancy.
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