Strengthening exercises, sitting pelvic tilts, and water exercises eased the intensity of lower back pain, and also cut down on the amount of sick leave women took due to pain, compared to regular prenatal care only, they found.

Stabilizing exercises and acupuncture were better than usual care alone for relieving pelvic pain. Among women with both back and pelvic pain, there was evidence that acupuncture was more effective than physical therapy.

The results of this review should be interpreted with caution, they add, given that "the quality of the studies was not the best." They conclude by calling for more research on the effectiveness of various approaches to treating back and pelvic pain in pregnancy in order to help prenatal care providers give women better advice on treating, and possibly preventing, discomfort.

SOURCE: Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2007, Issue 2.

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Anxiety disorders impacted by parents' drug abuse

Last Updated: 2007-05-11 15:15:14 -0400 (Reuters Health)

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In a study of adults with social phobia and panic disorders, researchers found that the risk of relapse increased when the subjects had parents with a history of substance misuse.

Doctors who treat adults with anxiety disorders should ask them about parental substance use disorders and dependency, advise Dr. Maria E. Pagano, from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, and colleagues.

"Such information may facilitate treatment planning," they point out.

Children of parents who abuse alcohol and other substances are known to struggle with the effects of this misuse into adulthood, but few studies have looked at the impact these parental disorders have on the course of anxiety in the adult offspring.

As reported in the medical journal Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy, the researchers assessed the impact of parental substance misuse on adults with anxiety by analyzing data from 618 subjects enrolled in the Harvard/Brown Anxiety Research Project.

The participants suffered from mental disorders such as vulnerability to perceived scrutiny by others in social situations, and difficulty maintaining a panic-free state.

A parental history of substance use disorders was tied to the likelihood that patients were divorced and had gone no further in their education than high school, the report indicates.

In addition, subjects with a parental history of substance use problems were at increased risk for relapse of social phobia and panic disorders.

The findings "highlight the importance of studies that examine the time course of change in anxiety diagnostic status in relation to parental history of substance use disorders," the researchers conclude.

SOURCE: Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy; April 27, 2007.

Copyright © 2007 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance