Acceptability and effectiveness of multi-media delivery of an exercise programme among postpartum women with lumbo pelvic pain in Taiwan

Abstract

Registration of study Background and study aims Lumbo Pelvic Pain (LPP) is a common problem among pregnant women and those that have given birth within the last year (postnatal). LPP may lead to sleep problems, depression, fatigue and anxiety, and a general inability to carry out activities that involve carrying or lifting. Various treatments have been used to reduce LPP in general including physical exercise although the effect of exercise programmes in treating back pain is yet to be fully understood among postnatal women. In any case, new mothers in many Asian countries, such as Taiwan, tend to reduce physical activity after birth in accordance with traditional practices. Mothers in Taiwan receive verbal advice on exercise to be followed in the postnatal period by health care professionals before their discharge from hospital. Most of the hospitals also provide the women with a leaflet containing details of an exercise programme to manage postpartum LPP commonly referred to as back pain. However, very little is known about the uptake of this exercise programme or its benefits for postnatal women. Technology has been increasingly used in health care to deliver various treatments and technology based delivery can improve the uptake of exercise among certain groups. How acceptable different methods of teaching the exercises, using digital or print media are and how they might affect how many postnatal women take up the exercise, adhere to it and complete an exercise programme has yet to be understood. Taiwan has a world-leading position in technology with 80% of all households owning personal computers and around 84% households with high speed internet connection. This study assesses the effectiveness of an exercise programme (the intervention) designed to strengthen abdominal and global muscles delivered using Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), Internet or leaflet, on LPP among postnatal women in Taiwan, and to compare exercise uptake, adherence and completion rates.