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.
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Pregnancy-related lumbopelvic pain (PLPP) (pregnant women)
Timeframe: Timepoint 2 (between gestational weeks 32-36), Timepoint 3 (6 weeks postpartum), Timepoint 4 (9 months postpartum)
Postural control (pregnant women)
Timeframe: Timepoint 1 (between gestational weeks 9-16), Timepoint 2 (between gestational weeks 32-36), Timepoint 3 (6 weeks postpartum), Timepoint 4 (9 months postpartum)
Proprioceptive use during postural control (pregnant women)
Timeframe: Timepoint 1 (between gestational weeks 9-16), Timepoint 2 (between gestational weeks 32-36), Timepoint 3 (6 weeks postpartum), Timepoint 4 (9 months postpartum)
Inflammation with blood samples (pregnant women)
Timeframe: Timepoint 1 (between gestational weeks 9-16), Timepoint 2 (between gestational weeks 32-36), Timepoint 3 (6 weeks postpartum), Timepoint 4 (9 months postpartum)
Task-related fear of movement (pregnant women)
Timeframe: Timepoint 1 (between gestational weeks 9-16), Timepoint 2 (between gestational weeks 32-36), Timepoint 3 (6 weeks postpartum), Timepoint 4 (9 months postpartum)
The ability to cope in a stressful situation with the Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC-13) (pregnant women)
Timeframe: Timepoint 1 (between gestational weeks 9-16), Timepoint 2 (between gestational weeks 32-36), Timepoint 3 (6 weeks postpartum), Timepoint 4 (9 months postpartum)
Depression, anxiety and stress in general with the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21) (pregnant women)
Timeframe: Timepoint 1 (between gestational weeks 9-16), Timepoint 2 (between gestational weeks 32-36), Timepoint 3 (6 weeks postpartum), Timepoint 4 (9 months postpartum)
Pregnancy-related anxiety with the Revised Pregnancy-related Anxiety Questionnaire (PRAQ-R2) (pregnant women)
Timeframe: Timepoint 1 (between gestational weeks 9-16), Timepoint 2 (between gestational weeks 32-36)
Pregnancy-related depression with the Edinburgh Depression Scale (EDS)(pregnant women)
Timeframe: Timepoint 1 (between gestational weeks 9-16), Timepoint 2 (between gestational weeks 32-36), Timepoint 3 (6 weeks postpartum), Timepoint 4 (9 months postpartum)
Catastrophic thinking related to pain with the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) (pregnant women)
Timeframe: Timepoint 1 (between gestational weeks 9-16), Timepoint 2 (between gestational weeks 32-36), Timepoint 3 (6 weeks postpartum), Timepoint 4 (9 months postpartum)
Body perception at the lumbar spine assessed with a laterality recognition task ("Recognise Back" app) (pregnant women)
Timeframe: Timepoint 1 (between gestational weeks 9-16), Timepoint 2 (between gestational weeks 32-36), Timepoint 3 (6 weeks postpartum), Timepoint 4 (9 months postpartum)
Body perception at the lumbar spine assessed with the Fremantle Back Awareness Questionnaire (FreBAQ) (pregnant women)
Timeframe: Timepoint 1 (between gestational weeks 9-16), Timepoint 2 (between gestational weeks 32-36), Timepoint 3 (6 weeks postpartum), Timepoint 4 (9 months postpartum)