Management of Chronic Post-Partum Pelvic Girdle Pain Study: Evaluating Effectiveness of Combined Physiotherapy and a Dynamic Elastomeric Fabric Orthosis

Pelvic girdle pain (PGP) occurs in 70% of pregnant women; of whom 25% have severe pain and 8% severe disability requiring the use of crutches, wheelchair or confinement to bed (Wu et al, 2004). At a personal level, women with PGP find that everyday activities such as turning in bed, prolonged walking, or carrying items may cause pain; impacting negatively on quality of life (Wang et al, 2004). In economic terms societal costs are significant, mainly as a consequence of work absenteeism; with 20% of people requiring an average of 7 weeks sick leave (Noren et al, 1997). The impact of this problem is significant; with 812, 970 deliveries occurring throughout the UK in 2012/13 (http://www.statistics.gov.uk/hub/index.html). Pregnancy related PGP has also been documented to increase.

PGP during pregnancy is thought to occur due to increased pelvic joint motion as a consequence of hormonal and biomechanical factors. For many women PGP symptoms resolve within approximately 3 months of delivery, however, approximately 38% of females continue to experience pain beyond 3 months following delivery (Gutke et al 2010, Van de Pol et al 2006). It is unknown why chronic symptoms persist, but age, parity, pre- pregnancy body mass index (BMI), mode of delivery and previous PGP, along with emotional and psychosocial factors have been identified as risk factors associated with chronic PGP (Robinson et al, 2010)). Further, women having caesarean section are at increased risk of post-partum chronic PGP, which is noteworthy given the increasing percentage of women who are electing for caesarean section for early symptomatic relief of peri-partum PGP. Urinary incontinence is also documented to affect approximately 70% of females suffering with pregnancy related PGP. If PGP symptoms continue into the post-partum then urinary incontinence is reported to continue due to an association with PGP and pelvic floor muscle weakness (Fitzgerald et al, 2012).

PGP is difficult to manage with limited guidance from the literature on conservative management. European Guidelines recommend exercise prescription for PGP (Vleeming et al., 2008) leading to the development of a Specialist Women's Health group information booklet that will be used in the current study.

An integral part of physiotherapists' management approach for PGP is the provision of orthoses such as rigid pelvic belts, which aim to improve pelvic joint stability and thus reduce pain. Pelvic belts apply forces to the pelvis within the transverse plane. Recently dynamic elastomeric fabric orthoses (DEFO) have been developed. A DEFO is made of elastomeric panels (e.g. Lycra ®) that are pre-stretched and can provide forces in multiple directions to the pelvis. Thus they provide continued multi-axis support whilst being flexible enough to allow people to participate in everyday activities. Studies on sports people with pelvic girdle pain have shown that the application of forces in more than one plane decreases pain and improves function over and above that seen with the application of transverse forces associated with pelvic belts (Sawle et al, 2013). Therefore the DEFO may have advantages over current rigid pelvic belts in terms of mode of action, clinical effectiveness and user satisfaction. To date a comprehensive literature search has revealed there have been no trials of orthotic use in women with chronic PGP post-partum. This project will therefore follow the recommendations of the Medical Research Council in the development and evaluation of complex interventions to establish a clearer understanding of PGP and its management post-partum that can inform future clinical trials.