Healthy pregnant women who did water aerobics once a week reported less low back pain and less work missed due to back pain than those who performed land-based exercise weekly.
Low back pain during pregnancy can increase the risk of suffering this type of pain later on, midwife Aina B. Granath of Primary Health Care in Southern Bohuslan County in Molndal and colleagues note in the Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic and Neonatal Nursing.
Women in the water exercise group reported less pregnancy- related lower back pain than those who exercised on land, reports Reuters.
"Pregnant women should be encouraged to continue with moderate physical activity as long as possible. Water aerobics is a simple and inexpensive form of physical activity," the researchers conclude.
