ウェアラブルウォッチを用いた妊娠中期の身体活動量が及ぼす妊娠後期の腰痛への影響

Effect of Physical Activity Levels During the Second Trimester of Pregnancy on Low Back Pain During the Third Trimester Using Wearable Devices

要旨

　目的：妊娠中期の身体活動量が妊娠後期の腰痛に与える影響を明らかにする．

　方法：妊娠中期と後期の妊婦に縦断的にアンケート調査と，ウェアラブルウォッチを7日間連続で装着し身体活動量を算出した．調査項目は，属性，運動実施状況，痛みの評価スケール（VAS）と疾患特異的・患者立脚型慢性腰痛症患者機能評価尺度（JLEQ）とした．本研究は所属大学の倫理委員会の承認を得て実施した．

　結果：対象104名で有効回答数は98名だった．妊娠経過に伴いVASとJLEQは有意に上昇した．腰痛悪化の程度は23メッツ・時/週の中強度以上の身体活動や8,000歩/日の歩行，低強度の身体活動時間が多いと有意に低く，非妊時のやせ，体重増加量が大きいと有意に高かった．

　結論：妊娠中期の身体活動量が後期の腰痛悪化の予防に寄与していた．運動をできずとも，日常生活内の身体活動量を増やすことで，腰痛を軽減できる可能性が示唆された．

　Objective: This study aimed to determine the effect of physical activity levels during the second trimester on low back pain during the third trimester of pregnancy.

　Methods: Pregnant women in their second trimester were surveyed, and their physical activity was measured using a wearable watch for 7 consecutive days. The survey items included attributes, exercise implementation status, Visual Analog Scale(VAS) for assessing pain, and the Japan Low Back Pain Evaluation Questionnaire(JLEQ). A follow-up questionnaire survey was administered in the third trimester to evaluate the degree of low back pain. The university Ethics Committee approved this study.

　Results: Of the 104 participants, 98 responded effectively. Both VAS and JLEQ scores increased significantly over time. Pregnant women who engaged in ≥23 MET-h(Metabolic Equivalent of Task-hours) of moderate-intensity physical activity during the second trimester, walked over 8,000 steps/day, and had longer durations of low-intensity physical activity experienced significantly lesser degrees of worsening low back pain. Conversely, pregnant women with pre-pregnancy body mass index(BMI) in the underweight category and those who gained weight reported significantly worse low back pain.

　Conclusions: Physical activity during the second trimester contributes to the prevention of worsening low back pain in the third trimester. Even if exercise cannot be performed for some reason, our results suggest that increasing daily physical activity in daily life may reduce low back pain in pregnant women.