Does Gynecologic Surgery Contribute to Low Back Problems in Later Life? An Analysis of the Women’s Health and Aging Study
Presented as a poster to the Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, October 8−9, 2004, Phoenix, AZ.
Abstract
Ericksen JJ, Bean JF, Kiely DK, Hicks GE, Leveille SG. Does gynecologic surgery contribute to low back problems in later life? An analysis of the Women’s Health and Aging Study.
Objective
To examine whether women with potential injuries to the abdominal and pelvic musculature from past gynecologic surgery are at higher risk for low back pain (LBP).
Design
Cross-sectional population-based study.
Setting
Eastern region of the city and county of Baltimore, MD.
Participants
Disabled women (N=1002) aged 65 and older, 448 of whom reported gynecologic surgery who were participants in the Women’s Health and Aging Study.
Interventions
Not applicable.
Main Outcome Measures
LBP presence in the last year, LBP severity for the last month, and adjudicated lumbar diagnoses (disk disease, stenosis) were examined in relation to reports of surgical menopause or ovarian surgery adjusted for LBP risk factors.
Results
Women with surgical menopause experienced more moderate LBP (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]=1.59; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.1−2.3) than women without surgical menopause. Women with ovarian surgery also experienced more moderate LBP than women without ovarian surgery, but this association was not statistically significant (AOR=1.39; 95% CI, 0.96–2.09). Gynecologic surgery was not associated with an increased likelihood of lumbar disk disease or stenosis.
Conclusions
Surgical menopause may increase the risk of moderate LBP. Further research is needed to determine how gynecologic surgery might influence low back pathology. Abdominal and pelvic muscle rehabilitation after gynecologic surgery may provide protection from LBP later in life.
dDepartment of Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Science, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
eDepartment of General Internal Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
Reprint requests to Jeffery J. Ericksen, MD, Dept of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, PO Box 980677, Richmond, VA 23298-0677
Supported by the National Institute on Aging (grant no. NO1AG12112).
No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit upon the author(s) or upon any organization with which the author(s) is/are associated.
ABSTRACT