Three-dimensional kinematic adaptations of gait throughout pregnancy and post-partum

Purpose: The kinematic analysis of gait during pregnancy provides more information about the anatomical changes and contributes to exercise and rehabilitation prescription. The purposes were to describe and quantify the spatial, temporal and kinematic parameters in the joints of the lower limb during gait at the end of the first, second and third trimesters of pregnancy and in the postpartum period. Methods: A three-dimensional analysis was performed in eleven pregnant women. Repeated measures ANOVA was performed for comparisons between periods. Results: The longitudinal effect of pregnancy was not observed in spatial and temporal parameters. In joint kinematics the effect of pregnancy was observed in all joints for the three planes of motion. The hip joint and pelvis are the structures with more changes, and the results point to an increase in the anterior tilt of the pelvis as the pregnancy progresses, as well as a decrease of the amplitudes of the hip joint. The results suggested that pregnant women need to maintain the stability of the body, and become more efficient in locomotion. Conclusions: In general, the results retrieve the values from the beginning of pregnancy, indicating that the body was self-organized in order to overcome the morphological and physiological changes which women suffer during pregnancy, indicating that they have the ability to adapt depending on the demands, and after the effect of pregnancy is over, they return to values similar to those found in early pregnancy.