Influence of pregnancy related anthropometric changes on plantar pressure distribution during gait-A follow-up study.

Background: As foot constitutes the base of support for the whole body, the pregnancy-related anthropometric changes can result in adaptive plantar pressure alterations. The present study aimed to investigate how pregnancy affects foot loading pattern in gait, and if it is related to body adjustments to growing foetus that occur in the course of pregnancy.

Methods: A prospective longitudinal study included 30 women.

Does the first trimester of pregnancy induce alterations in the walking pattern?

Introduction: From among many studies observing the walking pattern throughout pregnancy, only two items monitor the influence of pregnancy on the movement system during gait considering the period before gestation.

Research Question: Does the women's gait pattern at the end of the first trimester undergo changes in comparison to body movement pattern before pregnancy?

Methods: All subjects who met the inclusion criteria gave signed and informed consent before the study. Two experimental sessions were arranged according to the same protocol: (P0) before pregnancy and (P1) at the end of the first trimester of pregnancy (12th week of gestation).