Article

Pregnant women are at a high risk of experiencing a fall. To our knowledge,
ground reaction forces (GRFs) in pregnant fallers and non-fallers have not been
reported. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of
pregnancy and fall history on GRFs during walking. METHODS: Forty one pregnant
subjects in the mid 2nd and 3rd trimesters (pregnant fallers: n=15, pregnant
non-fallers: n=14), and 40 control women walked at a freely chosen walking speed
along an 8m walkway. A force plate, hidden in the walkway, was used to collect
GRFs (1080Hz). Kinematic data (120Hz) were collected from a marker placed on the
lumbar spine to estimate walking velocity. GRF variables included mediolateral
Center of Pressure (COP) excursion, and GRFs normalized to body mass. A two
factor ANOVA (trimester x fall group) was used to compare subject demographics,
and walking velocity (alpha=0.05). A two factor ANCOVA (trimesterxfall group,
covariate: velocity) was performed to examine other GRF variables (Bonferroni
corrected alpha=0.006) and the mediolateral COP excursion (alpha=0.05). RESULTS:
Walking velocity was greater in the control group (p<0.05). No differences were
seen in the GRFs or COP movement between trimesters or between pregnant fallers
and non-fallers. CONCLUSIONS: When walking velocity was considered in the
statistical model, ground reaction forces are essentially unchanged by pregnancy.
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Langue : ANGLAIS