University of Utah, Department of Health & Kinesiology, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
University of Utah, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
Clin Biomech (Bristol). 2024 May;115:106264. doi: 10.1016/j.clinbiomech.2024.106264. Epub 2024 May 9.
Approximately 25% of pregnant people fall, yet the underlying mechanisms of this increased fall-risk remain unclear. Prior studies examining pregnancy and balance have utilized center of pressure analyses and reported mixed results. The purpose of this study was to examine sensory and segmental contributions to postural control throughout pregnancy using accelerometer-based measures of sway.
Thirty pregnant people (first trimester: n = 10, second trimester: n = 10, third trimester: n = 10) and 10 healthy, nonpregnant control people stood quietly for one minute in four conditions: eyes open on a firm surface, eyes closed on a firm surface, eyes open on a foam pad, and eyes closed on foam. Postural sway was quantified using the root mean square accelerations in the anterior-posterior and medial-lateral directions from an inertial sensor at the lumbar region. Sensory sway ratios, segmental coherence and co-phase, were calculated to assess sensory contributions and segmental control, respectively.
Pregnant people did not display greater sway compared to healthy, nonpregnant controls. There were no group differences in vestibular, visual, or somatosensory sway ratios, and no significant differences in balance control strategies between pregnant and nonpregnant participants across sensory conditions.
The small effects observed here contrast prior studies and suggest larger, definitive studies are needed to assess the effect of pregnancy on postural control. This study serves as a preliminary exploration of pregnant sensory and segmental postural control and highlights the need for future to hone the role of balance in fall risk during pregnancy.
大约 25%的孕妇会摔倒，但导致这种跌倒风险增加的潜在机制尚不清楚。之前研究妊娠和平衡的研究使用了压力中心分析，得出了混合的结果。本研究旨在使用基于加速度计的摆动测量来检查整个怀孕期间姿势控制的感觉和节段贡献。
30 名孕妇（第一孕期：n=10，第二孕期：n=10，第三孕期：n=10）和 10 名健康、未怀孕的对照组人员在四种条件下安静站立一分钟：睁眼在坚固表面上，闭眼在坚固表面上，睁眼在泡沫垫上，闭眼在泡沫垫上。使用惯性传感器在腰部测量前后方向和内外方向的根均方加速度来量化姿势摆动。计算感觉摆动比、节段相干性和同相来分别评估感觉贡献和节段控制。
与健康、未怀孕的对照组相比，孕妇的摆动没有增加。前庭、视觉或躯体感觉摆动比在组间没有差异，在感觉条件下，孕妇和未孕妇参与者之间的平衡控制策略也没有显著差异。
这里观察到的小影响与之前的研究相反，这表明需要更大、更明确的研究来评估妊娠对姿势控制的影响。本研究初步探讨了妊娠期间的感觉和节段性姿势控制，并强调了未来需要进一步明确平衡在妊娠期间跌倒风险中的作用。
