Is pregnancy related pelvic girdle pain associated with altered kinematic, kinetic and motor control of the pelvis? A systematic review

Abstract

Purpose To determine the level of evidence for altered mechanical and motor control of the pelvis being associated with pregnancy-related pelvic girdle pain (PPGP). Methods This systematic review was undertaken by following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Six different databases were used for the electronic search. Observational cohorts, cross sectional or case-control studies focused on the association between altered kinematic/kinetic and motor control of the pelvis and PPGP during pregnancy were included. Study selection was conducted by two reviewers who firstly screened for titles, then for abstracts and finally for full articles. The Newcastle-Ottawa scale and the guidelines proposed by the Cochrane back review group were used to assess risk of bias and quality of evidence, respectively. Results 354 references were identified, and after excluding unwanted articles, 10 studies met the final inclusion criteria. Studies not related to motor control or pelvic mobility were the main reason for exclusion. Seven studies were case-control and three were prospective cohort studies. Seven studies were ranked as high while three were ranked as low quality. Among the high quality studies, six found association between PPGP and altered motor control and mobility of the pelvis.Conclusions The level of evidence for an association between PPGP and altered motor control and kinematic or kinetic parameters of the pelvis was found to be moderate.

Effect of pregnancy on gingival inflammation in systemically healthy women: a systematic review

“…Studies with five or more points were considered as high quality (Aldabe et al. ). A full explanation of the NOS can be found in Appendix S1 and S2.…”

Musculoskeletal symptoms and orthopaedic complications in pregnancy: pathophysiology, diagnostic approaches and modern management

“…It has been shown that in pelvic girdle pain there is altered mechanical and motor control of the pelvis 19. With regard to the altered mechanics, symphyseal separation of more than 9–13 mm and a change in the shape of the symphysis may play a role in pelvic girdle pain.…”

The Michel Benoist and Robert Mulholland yearly European Spine Journal Review

“…The two review papers by Aldabe et al [2,3] concerning pelvic pain in pregnancy were intriguing. We learn that it affects 20 % of pregnant woman, and they are three times more likely to get a post-partum depression.…”