Effects of hydrotherapy in preventing low back pain and pregnancy edema

• Grant number: 12/00359-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2012
• End date: December 31, 2012
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy
• Principal Investigator: Angélica Mércia Pascon Barbosa
• Grantee: Giovana Vesentini
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia e Ciências (FFC). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Marília. Marília , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The gestational period leads to several morphological and physiological modifications in a woman's body that require special care. The main changes are postural disorders, which lead to low back pain and water retention. In this sense, it's important to recognize resources to reduce these symptoms and then allow the health professional to develop interventions and/or diagnoses for early treatment. Specifically, hydrotherapy is considered the ideal activity for pregnant women, because of the physiological modifications that happen during immersion in warm water, which brings numerous benefits including gestational diabetes risk reduction, weight and body composition maintenance at appropriate levels for the gestational period, cardiovascular stress reduction, faster recovery after childbirth and during the fetus developing, prevention and improving on the skeletal muscle discomforts and control of gestational edema. So the goal of this study is to analyze the effects of hydrotherapy as a prevention proposal for low back pain and gestational edema. It will be joined into two groups, the hydrotherapy group with a pregnant woman that participates on the hydrotherapy program, and the control group of a pregnant woman that won't participate the hydrotherapy program. It will be selected for pregnant women between 18 and 30 years old, and between the 12th and 20th gestational week. All the volunteers will make an initial evaluation, guidance on preventive measures for low back pain and gestational edema, and final evaluation. To analyze the results, it will be applied the non-parametrical Wilcoxon test. To associate groups and times with the categorical variables it will be applied Fisher's exact test. The statistical significance will be confirmed by the limit of 5% (p<0,05). It will be used the software SAS 9.0.(AU)