Musculoskeletal System Pain in Mothers of Children with Cerebral Palsy: a Cross Sectional Study in Khusetan Province

Introduction: Cerebral palsy (CP) is one of the most common movement disorders in children, affecting ۱ to ۳% of children worldwide. The parents of these children are exposed to different kinds of musculoskeletal disorders due to taking care of and carrying the child. The aim of this study was to investigate the most common musculoskeletal system pain in mothers of children with CP as the main caregiver in order to design further prevention and treatment programs.Methodology: ۷۷ mothers of children with CP, participated in this study. Two online questionnaires were used for data gathering. First one was a demographic questionnaire and the second was a researcher design questionnaire in order to gather information about musculoskeletal system pain. Prevalence of musculoskeletal system pain was investigated. The correlation between mother’s age, child age, level of GMFCS were estimated using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient test. The α level was ۰.۰۵ for all comparisons.Results:۱۱ percent of mothers were employed and ۱۶ percent of mothers were between ۰۳ and ۶۳years old. ۴۹ of CP children were male and ۲۸ of them were female, age range between (۲ to۱۵). ۳۰ percent of CP children were able to walk independently while ۵۰ percent of them were totally un-ambulated based on GMFCS data. The low back pain was the most common musculoskeletal system pain with the prevalence of ۷۵ percent. Other musculoskeletal system pain was in neck (۶۴%), shoulders (۵۸%), elbows (۳۹%), and ankles (۲۳%) respectively. Unfortunately, only ۲۰ percent of mothers who suffer from musculoskeletal system pain, visit the physician. The most referral was due to low back pain (۲۵%).There was not statistical difference between severity of pain among employed and unemployed mothers (p>۰.۰۵). The moderate correlation was estimated between musculoskeletal system pain among mothers and child ability to walk (r=۰.۴۹), and child age (r=۰.۴۱).Discussion: Most mothers of children with CP are somehow involved in musculoskeletal pain, which affects the performance and quality of life of the whole family. Identifying these pains by the specialists of corrective movements can help prevent their occurrence and exacerbation.Conclusion: According to the findings of the present study, it is necessary for specialists in corrective movements to identify musculoskeletal pain in mothers of children with CP and apply appropriate treatment planning to decrease their pain, increase their performance and quality of life.

کلیدواژه ها:

Mothers ، Cerebral Palsy ، Musculoskeletal System ، Pain ، Corrective Movements