Bey Marie Elena, Arampatzis Adamantios, Legerlotz Kirsten
Department of Training and Movement Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany; Berlin School of Movement Science, Germany.
Department of Training and Movement Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany; Berlin School of Movement Science, Germany.
J Biomech. 2018 Jun 25;75:123-128. doi: 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2018.05.005. Epub 2018 May 18.
Physical and hormonal changes during pregnancy are thought to affect balance and injury risk, with increased numbers of falls being reported. A maternity support belt (MSB) has been suggested to stabilize the pelvis and to enhance balance. The purpose of this study was therefore to investigate the effect of an MSB on postural stability in different trimesters of pregnancy.
Postural stability was assessed in the first (T1, n = 30), second (T2, n = 30) and third trimester (T3, n = 30) of pregnancy and compared to non-pregnant controls (n = 30), using a portable force plate. Postural sway during quiescent standing with and without applying an MSB was characterized by analyzing path length, velocity, amplitudes and area. Subsequently, anterior and posterior limits of stability (LoS) were determined.
Postural sway during quiescent standing did not change with pregnancy. However, LoS performance was reduced already in T1, before body mass significantly increased. The MSB led to a small improvement in the LoS while slightly increasing postural sway in anterior-posterior direction and shifting the center of pressure posteriorly during quiescent standing.
While impairments in balance already occurred early in pregnancy before body mass significantly increased, they were subtle and only measurable in exacerbated conditions. This challenges the assumed necessity of balance enhancing interventions in pregnant women. Although the MSB significantly affected body posture, the magnitude of the LoS improvement using the MSB was very small. Thus, it remains debatable if the MSB is a meaningful tool to increase balance during pregnancy.
孕期的身体和激素变化被认为会影响平衡能力和受伤风险，据报道跌倒的人数有所增加。有人建议使用孕妇支撑带（MSB）来稳定骨盆并增强平衡能力。因此，本研究的目的是调查MSB对孕期不同阶段姿势稳定性的影响。
使用便携式测力板，对妊娠第一期（T1，n = 30）、第二期（T2，n = 30）和第三期（T3，n = 30）的姿势稳定性进行评估，并与非孕对照组（n = 30）进行比较。通过分析路径长度、速度、幅度和面积，来表征在静立状态下使用和不使用MSB时的姿势摆动情况。随后，确定前后稳定性极限（LoS）。
静立状态下的姿势摆动在孕期没有变化。然而，在体重显著增加之前，T1期的LoS表现就已经下降。MSB在静立状态下使LoS有小幅改善，同时在前后方向上轻微增加姿势摆动，并使压力中心后移。
虽然在体重显著增加之前，孕期早期就已经出现平衡能力受损的情况，但这些变化很细微，只有在加剧的情况下才能测量到。这对假定的孕妇平衡增强干预措施的必要性提出了挑战。尽管MSB显著影响身体姿势，但使用MSB时LoS改善的幅度非常小。因此，MSB是否是增加孕期平衡能力的有效工具仍存在争议。
