Differences in Balance and Limb Loading Symmetry in Postpartum and Nulliparous Women During Childcare Related Activities

dc.contributor.authorLibera, Theresa L.en
dc.contributor.committeechairQueen, Robin M.en
dc.contributor.committeecochairArena, Sara L.en
dc.contributor.committeememberPerez, Miguel A.en
dc.contributor.departmentBiomedical Engineering and Mechanicsen
dc.date.accessioned2024-10-09T17:13:10Zen
dc.date.available2024-10-09T17:13:10Zen
dc.date.issued2024-10-02en
dc.description.abstractEvery year, over 3.5 million women give birth in the United States, with about 67.9% delivering vaginally. Over 80% of postpartum (PP) women experience chronic pain in the pelvis, lower back, hip, and legs at 24 weeks after birth, and 20% continue to experience these issues 3 years later. PP women often face pelvic instability and weakness, which disturb balance and lead to asymmetric loading in the pelvis and legs. This imbalance makes daily tasks, such as lifting and carrying a car seat during childcare, more difficult, and increases the risk of chronic pain and injury. This study aimed to explore how different groups – PP and nulliparous (NP) women – and different ways of holding a car seat while standing – no holding, symmetrical holding with two hands in front, and asymmetrical holding with one arm by the side – affect balance and limb loading symmetry. Results showed that postpartum women struggled more with balance as the task became more challenging, with asymmetrical holding showing large differences between groups. PP women also exhibited greater asymmetric limb loading compared to NP women with asymmetrical holding creating the greatest level of asymmetric limb loading. The study also aimed to explore how the two groups – PP and NP – and the different ways of lifting a car seat – symmetrically and asymmetrically – affect balance and limb loading. Both groups had more asymmetric limb loading and worse balance with asymmetrical lifting, though NP women showed larger movements during asymmetrical lifting, likely reflecting the movement of the body during the condition. These results highlight the importance to further research balance and limb loading in PP compared to NP women. Understanding whether pelvic instability and weakness may contribute to differences in balance and limb loading is crucial as it may help explain how and why postpartum women face higher risk of injury and chronic pain. Ultimately, such work may find ways to improve postpartum health during daily activities.en
dc.description.abstractgeneralEvery year, over 3.5 million women give birth in the United States, with about 67.9% delivering vaginally. Over 80% of postpartum (PP) women experience chronic pain in the pelvis, lower back, hip, and legs at 24 weeks after birth, and 20% continue to experience these issues 3 years later. PP women often face pelvic instability and weakness, which disturb balance and lead to asymmetric loading in the pelvis and legs. This imbalance makes daily tasks, such as lifting and carrying a car seat during childcare, more difficult, and increase the risk of chronic pain and injury. This study aimed to explore how different groups – PP and nulliparous (NP) women – and different ways of holding a car seat while standing – no holding, symmetrical holding with two hands in front, and asymmetrical holding with one arm by the side – affect balance and limb loading symmetry. Results showed that postpartum women struggled more with balance as the task became more challenging, with asymmetrical holding showing large differences between groups. PP women also exhibited greater asymmetric limb loading compared to NP women with asymmetrical holding creating the greatest level asymmetric limb loading. The study also aimed to explore how the two groups – PP and NP – and the different ways of lifting a car seat – symmetrically and asymmetrically – affect balance and limb loading. Both groups had more asymmetric limb loading and worse balance with asymmetrical lifting, though NP women showed larger movements during asymmetrical lifting, likely reflecting the movement of the body during the condition. These results highlight the importance to further research balance and limb loading in PP compared to NP women. Understanding whether pelvic instability and weakness may contribute to differences in balance and limb loading is crucial as it may help explain how and why postpartum women face higher risk of injury and chronic pain. Ultimately, such work may find ways to improve postpartum health during daily activities.en
dc.description.degreeMaster of Scienceen
dc.description.sponsorshipVT Engineering Faculty Organization-Opportunity (EFO-O) Seed Investmenten
dc.format.mediumETDen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10919/121321en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.rightsCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internationalen
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/en
dc.subjectPostpartum healthen
dc.subjectpostural controlen
dc.subjectlower extremity load symmetryen
dc.subjectchildcare activitiesen
dc.titleDifferences in Balance and Limb Loading Symmetry in Postpartum and Nulliparous Women During Childcare Related Activitiesen
dc.typeThesisen
dc.type.dcmitypeTexten
thesis.degree.disciplineBiomedical Engineeringen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Scienceen

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