Effectiveness of Nurse-Directed Exercises on Pelvic Girdle Pain and Functional Status among Antenatal Mothers in Tertiary Care Hospital- A Quantitative Research

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Introduction: Pelvic Girdle Pain (PGP) is a common musculoskeletal disorder that leads to significant disabilities in day-to-day activities during pregnancy. PGP increases with advancing pregnancy. Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness of nurse directed exercises on PGP and functional status among antenatal mothers. Materials and Methods: A quantitative research approach- true experimental research (two group pre-test post-test) design was adopted. By simple random sampling technique, with permuted block method, 108 antenatal mothers who attended the antenatal Out Patient Department (OPD) in Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute, Pillaiyarkuppam, Puducherry, India, at 27 weeks of gestation were selected as a sample. The study has been carried out from 30th March 2022 to 14th May 2022. The numerical pain rating scale and pelvic girdle questionnaire was used. Group-I received nurse directed exercises such as diaphragmatic breathing, Kegel’s exercise, squatting exercise, child pose exercise etc., Group-II received routine care such as diet counselling, personal cleanliness, care of breast, immunisation, rest and sleep, dental care, and avoidance of travelling. Post-test was done at 31 weeks of gestation. Descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation and inferential statistics like Independent t-test, Spearman correlation coefficient, Kruskal-Wallis test was used. Results: Nurse directed exercises were more effective method in reducing the PGP level (4.26 vs 3.02) and improving the functional status (61.059 Vs 55.680) among antenatal mothers with PGP. There was a significant association between the PGP with nature of work (p-value-0.001) and previous history of abdominal or pelvic surgery (p-value 0.0102). Conclusion: Nurse directed exercises were more effective in alleviating the PGP level and helps in improving the normal daily activities of antenatal mothers with PGP.