Review of biomechanical deviations among nonpregnant, pregnant, and postpartum cohorts

Abstract

During pregnancy, women experience substantial changes in physiology, morphology, and hormonal systems. These changes have profound effects on the biomechanics of the human body, particularly the musculoskeletal system, resulting in discomfort, pain, and decreased body stability. Sufficient biomechanical knowledge is critical for understanding the etiology and precautions of musculoskeletal disorders. With awareness of health problems in the pregnant cohort, identification, intervention, and precaution of problems have garnered attention. Researchers have conducted studies to determine the biomechanics of pregnancy. There have been review studies on summarization. However, to the best of our knowledge, few studies have comprehensively described biomechanical changes throughout pre-, in-, and postpartum periods. This review analyzed available studies on biomechanical changes during these three periods in the electronic databases of PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane from inception until June 2, 2021. Synthesized the general information, age of the studied subjects, investigated periods, sample size, objectives, measurement tools, and outcomes of reviewed studies. And Using National Institutes of Health quality assessment tool for observational cohort and cross-sectional studies to assessment the quality of the reviewed articles. These studies revealed biomechanical deviations in body stability, motion patterns, and gait modes during these three periods. Regarding research content, there are insufficient studies on certain critical biomechanical aspects, such as the kinetic parameters of the inner body, which are the most direct factors related to musculoskeletal problems. According to the National Institutes of Health quality assessment tool for observational cohort and cross-sectional studies, a more comprehensive and explicit understanding of pregnancy biomechanics can be expected.