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Proprioceptive, Fear-related and Inflammatory Factors in the Persistence of Pregnancy-related Lumbopelvic Pain.

NCT06785909 · Status: RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 211

Last updated 2025-12-02

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Pregnancy-related lumbopelvic pain (PLPP) affects 50-90% of pregnant women and is often dismissed as a normal part of pregnancy. However, the long-term consequences can be dramatic. Up to 21% of women with PLPP still have pain three years postpartum, and 10% experience disability, poorer quality of life, and lower ability to work 11 years after delivery. Because the multifactorial etiology of PLPP is unclear, prevention and treatment fall short. Previous studies on the causes of PLPP focused on impairments in motor output but ignored that impairments in sensory input (e.g., proprioception, the primary expertise of our research group) often precede motor output problems. Moreover, though psychological factors such as fear (of movement) are known to affect PLPP, their predictive role in PLPP remains understudied. Finally, the role of systemic inflammation in PLPP has yet to be examined, despite recent studies demonstrating its role in the chronification of lumbopelvic pain in the general population.

This prospective cohort study aims to identify new modifiable predictors for the onset of PLPP during pregnancy and its persistence postpartum. The investigators will compare sensory (proprioception, body perception), fear-related, and inflammatory factors between women with and without PLPP and determine their predictive role in the onset and persistence of PLPP. The results will increase our understanding of the multifactorial etiology of PLPP and help optimize prevention and treatment.

Conditions

  • Low Back Pain
  • Lumbopelvic Pain
  • Pelvic Girdle Pain

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Assessment of postural control, body perception, psychosocial factors and inflammation

Behavioral assessment of postural control, lumbar proprioceptive use during postural control, back-specific body perception, psychosocial factors (incl. fear of movement, pain catastrophizing, sense of coherence, fear-avoidance beliefs, (pregnancy-related) depression, anxiety and stress) and inflammatory mediators.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • KU Leuven

    collaborator OTHER

  • Hasselt University

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Lotte Janssens, Prof, PhD, PT · Hasselt University

  • Inge Geraerts, Prof, PhD, PT · KU Leuven

Study Design

Allocation
NA
Purpose
DIAGNOSTIC
Masking
NONE
Model
SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
40 Years
Sex
FEMALE
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2025-03-03
Primary Completion
2028-09-01
Completion
2028-12-31

Countries

  • Belgium

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT06785909 on ClinicalTrials.gov