Self-reported Oral Contraceptive Use and Peripheral Joint Laxity

Abstract

Study Design: A masked, singlefactor, posttestady control group design. Objective: To explore the relationship between reported oral contraceptive use and peripheral joint laxity. Background: Studies have found an association between increased ligamentous laxity and changes in serum levels of hormones such as estrogen, progesterone, and relaxin. Two of these hormones, estrogen and progesterone, are present in most oral contraceptives. Oral contraceptive users, therefore, provide a population for studying the effects of these hormones on the degree of ligamentous laxity.Methods and Measures: Fifty-five women between the ages of 20 and 25 years participated in this study. Thirty users of oral contraceptives were a test group and 25 nonusers of oral contraceptives were controls. The KT-1000 Arthrometer was used to measure passive anterior translation of the tibia in relation to the femur in both knees. hssive abduction and adduction of the proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joint of the second digit of the nondominant hand and distal interphalangeal (DIP) joint hyperextension of the fifth digit of the nondominant hand were measured using a goniometer. A subjective measurement of passive second PIP joint motion was also assessed and a value of minimum, moderate, or maximum laxity was assigned. Independent sample t tests were performed to compare the measurements of the oral contraceptive user and nonuser groups for each joint. A chi-square test compared the subjective PIP joint data between the 2 groups.Results No significant differences in laxity measurements at the knee or hand were found between the 2 groups. Average knee laxity varied between 5.7-7.9 mm of anterior displacement for both groups. Average PIP abduction and adduction varied between 6.5-6.7" for both groups and DIP hyperextension was 28.6-29.9'.Conclusions: Results of this study indicate that self-reported oral contraceptive use was not associated with peripheral joint laxity. / Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2000;30:683-692.

The differential effects of gender, anthropometry, and prior hormonal state on frontal plane knee joint stiffness

“…To our knowledge, there are only two studies that have examined the effect of HC use on A-P knee joint laxity. Pokorny et al (2000) found no significant differences between the two groups, but with low post-hoc statistical power. On the other hand, Martineau et al (2004) found that HC users exhibit significantly decreased knee joint laxity compared to non-users.…”

Serum prolidase activity in benign joint hypermobility syndrome

“…Although various enzyme and hormone studies have been conducted in this field [22,23], no full light has been shed on the etiopathogenesis of BJHS. Ligaments are hypocellular and consist of collagen, proteoglycans, elastin and water [7].…”

Incidence of Systemic Joint Hypermobility and Temporomandibular Joint Hypermobility in Pregnancy

“…Some authors suggest that female reproductive hormones represent a risk factor for the development of TMD, 16,17 whereas other authors find no correlation between relaxin and other female hormones and TMD. 5,6 However, the correlation cannot be ignored. According to Warren and Fried,9 TMD is much more prevalent in women than in men, and the highest incidence occurs after puberty.…”

“…Although there are no studies confirming the effect of hormonal variations on the TMJ and systemic hypermobility, 5,6 it is theoretically plausible for joint hypermobility to result from higher levels of the hormone relaxin during pregnancy, given the TMJÕs tendencies for dysfunction. 7,8,9 This study tried to establish whether or not there exists a correlation between systemic hypermobility and TMJ hypermobility in women during the first, second, and third trimesters of gestation.…”