The effect of a maternity support belt on static stability and posture in pregnant and non-pregnant women

Abstract

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.

Effectiveness, Feasibility, and Acceptability of Dynamic Elastomeric Fabric Orthoses (DEFO) for Managing Pain, Functional Capacity, and Quality of Life during Prenatal and Postnatal Care: A Systematic Review

“…The 17 studies that were reviewed based on the eligibility criteria varied in design (Table S2). Ten studies were randomized controlled trials [21,25,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47], one was a randomized crossover trial [48], two studies were randomized pilot studies [49,50], two were quasi-experimental studies [20,51], and there was one of each of the following designs—a prospective cohort study [24] and a case control study [52]. The studies were also diverse in geographical locations, which included (Table S2): New Zealand ( n = 2) [21,50], United States of America ( n = 2) [47,49], Iran ( n = 2) [44,46], Germany ( n = 3) [40,42,48], The Netherlands ( n = 2) [20,52], Australia ( n = 1) [25], Belgium ( n = 1) [41], England ( n = 1) [43], Scotland ( n = 1) [51], Turkey ( n = 1) [24], and Sweden ( n = 1) [45].…”

“…Eight [21,24,41,42,43,44,45,50] out of the thirteen included prenatal studies examined the changes on functional capacity when wearing the maternity support belts or DEFO. Three studies reported that the use of pelvic belts to perform daily tasks caused a decrease in pain and improved ability to perform daily activities such as standing, sitting, rolling over in bed, and walking [21,41,44].…”

“…Three studies reported that the use of pelvic belts to perform daily tasks caused a decrease in pain and improved ability to perform daily activities such as standing, sitting, rolling over in bed, and walking [21,41,44]. Two studies demonstrated that maternity support belts significantly improved women’s postural stability [24,42], and as a result, those individuals with a maternity support belt had lower falls risk [24]. Two studies reported that, when comparing time of inclusion scores to end of study scores in the postpartum period, all groups (i.e., wearing rigid or non-rigid pelvic belt or DEFO) scored significantly higher (i.e., better) activity ability [42,45].…”

“…Two studies demonstrated that maternity support belts significantly improved women’s postural stability [24,42], and as a result, those individuals with a maternity support belt had lower falls risk [24]. Two studies reported that, when comparing time of inclusion scores to end of study scores in the postpartum period, all groups (i.e., wearing rigid or non-rigid pelvic belt or DEFO) scored significantly higher (i.e., better) activity ability [42,45].…”

Patellar Tendon Stiffness Is Not Reduced During Pregnancy

“…Increased connective tissue compliance is further believed to cause joint instability (Ritchie, 2003) which may impair postural stability. Indeed, recent studies demonstrated an increase in postural sway (Jang et al, 2008; Oliveira et al, 2009) as well as impairments in dynamic (Inanir et al, 2014) and static postural stability, already occurring in the early stages of pregnancy (Bey et al, 2018). Since impairments in postural stability are associated with the high incidence of falls in pregnant women (Dunning et al, 2010) this may, in turn, lead to further injuries.…”