Pelvic Girdle Pain in Pregnancy (Student) Masters Research
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The effects of a water based exercise programme and a land based exercise programme on women experiencing pregnancy related Pelvic Girdle Pain (PGP): a randomised controlled feasibility study.
IRAS ID
198588
Contact name
Michael Hellawell
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Bradford University
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 5 months, 12 days
Research summary
Pelvic Girdle Pain (PGP) is defined as musculoskeletal pain localised to the anterior or posterior aspect of the pelvic ring (Skaags, 2007). It has been shown to reduce endurance for weight bearing activities (Nightingale, 2013) and has been linked to hormonal and musculoskeletal changes that occur in pregnancy (Kanakaris, 2011). Current data indicates that up to 20% of women in pregnancy experience PGP (Wu et al. 2004). Experience of PGP in pregnancy has been linked to increased sick leave and reduced quality of life (Valim, 2011).
European back and pelvic pain guidelines recommend that exercise treatments for PGP aim to improve control and stability at the pelvis (Vleeming et al. 2008). Exercise on land aiming to strengthen stabilizing muscle groups has been shown to reduce PGP (Morved et al. 2008). Aquatic exercise in pregnancy has been shown to increase improve cardiovascular fitness and reduce edema in pregnancy (Krammer & Macdonald, 2010).
European back and pelvic pain guidelines recommend aquatic exercise to treat PGP. Two studies have shown that aquatic exercise can reduce pain in patients with lower back pain, but used un-validated outcome measures and had high drop out rates (Khilstrand et al. 1999 and Granath et al. 2006). Both studies used ‘water aerobics’ as treatment but this did not aim to improve pelvic control. Neither specifically researched the impact of aquatic exercise on PGP or the differences of treating patients on water compared to land. Further research on comparing the outcomes of a land based exercise programme with an aquatic exercise programme on PGP and quality of life is therefore proposed. The proposed research is a student-led study aiming to assess the feasibility of larger scale research comparing outcomes of a land exercise programme with an aquatic exercise programme on PGP, that in future may support clinical recommendations.
REC name
London - City & East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/LO/0783
Date of REC Opinion
26 May 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion