Effects and Pathophysiology of Weight Training on Pregnancy-related Pelvic Girdle Pain (PPGP)

Summary

In recent years, due to the popularity of exercise during pregnancy, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that pregnant women should engage in 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week, including aerobic exercise or weight training. This can help reduce pregnancy complications (such as preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, pelvic pain, etc.) and does not increase the risk of miscarriage or premature birth. Pelvic pain during pregnancy is the most troublesome problem for pregnant women, often affecting their daily lives and mental health, leading to the need for long-term use of painkillers and even affecting their daily routine and sleep. Currently, research has also found that exercise during pregnancy can improve pelvic pain during pregnancy and reduce the inconvenience caused by pain in daily life. However, weight training can strengthen spinal stability and reduce lower back pain problems in non-pregnant individuals, but there is currently no research discussing whether weight training for pregnant women can improve pelvic pain during pregnancy, possibly because weight training for pregnant women is not widely accepted by society and is often associated with misconceptions and prejudices. Recent literature synthesis analysis tells us that weight training during pregnancy does not increase the risk of premature birth or miscarriage. Pregnant women in supervised moderate-intensity weight training do not endanger the health of the mother or fetus, and the safety is sufficient. Therefore, we hope to understand the effects and mechanisms of weight training during pregnancy on pelvic pain during pregnancy through this study.

Conditions

• Pelvic Girdle Pain

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

weight training

Pregnant women assigned to the intervention group will receive online weight training sessions twice a week, for 60 minutes per session, from the 16th to the 36th week of pregnancy. The Pelvic Girdle Questionnaire will be used to assess the condition of pelvic girdle pain during pregnancy, and to analyze whether weight training can improve this problem. Pelvic floor muscle structure will also be analyzed by pelvic ultrasound to determine whether it has been altered by weight training, leading to an improvement in pain.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Taiwan University Hospital

  collaborator OTHER

• National Taiwan University

  collaborator OTHER

• National Taiwan University Hospital Hsin-Chu Branch

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Hung-Yuan Li · National Taiwan University Hospital

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

20 Years

Max Age

50 Years

Sex

FEMALE

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2023-05-31

Primary Completion

2024-03-31

Completion

2024-10-01

Countries

• Taiwan

Study Locations