Motor control exercise program versus standard care in the treatment of lumbopelvic pain in pregnant women: A randomized controlled pilot trial

Daneau, C., Babineau, V., Marchand, A.-A., Bussières, A., O’Shaughnessy, J., Descarreaux, M. et Ruchat, S.-M. (2026). Motor control exercise program versus standard care in the treatment of lumbopelvic pain in pregnant women: A randomized controlled pilot trial. Chiropractic & Manual Therapies . ISSN 2045-709X DOI 10.1186/s12998-026-00655-x

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Résumé

Abstract

Background
Lumbopelvic pain is highly prevalent in pregnant women and although exercises are part of the strategies used to manage pregnancy-related lumbopelvic pain (PLBPP), available evidence regarding their effectiveness is inconclusive. The primary objective of this pilot study was to assess the feasibility of implementing a motor control exercise program for pregnant women presenting with a history of, or currently experiencing lumbopelvic pain. The secondary objective of the study was to explore the preliminary effectiveness of the program.

Methods
Women aged 18–40 years with a singleton pregnancy at gestational age ≤ 20 were eligible if they had a history of lumbopelvic pain or were currently experiencing their first PLBPP episode. Participants were randomly allocated to an intervention group (n = 16) or a control group (n = 16). The intervention group received standard prenatal care and participated in three 40-minute exercise sessions per week (one supervised and two unsupervised) from gestational age ≤ 20 weeks through 34–36. The control group received only standard prenatal care. Primary outcomes were recruitment, retention, and adherence rates, safety and acceptability of the intervention, whereas secondary outcomes included PLBPP frequency and intensity, PLBPP-related disability and several other PLBPP-related outcomes. Descriptive statistics were used to assess the feasibility and the preliminary effectiveness of the intervention.

Results
Over a 15-month period, 32 participants were recruited (April 2021 to July 2022). Of these, 26 (11 in the intervention group and 15 in the control group) attended the post-intervention visit, yielding an 81.3% retention rate. The adherence rates were similar for supervised and unsupervised exercise sessions; however, acceptability was higher for supervised sessions than for unsupervised sessions. No adverse events were reported. At pre-intervention, participants’ characteristics were similar between both groups except for education levels (higher in the control group). Preliminary results showed no clear differences in PLBPP frequency, intensity or associated disability between groups.

Conclusions
The motor control exercise program appears safe and feasible, with minor modifications. Optimization of recruitment strategies and participant adherence is warranted before proceeding to a full-scale randomized controlled trial.

Trial registration
The study has been registered at the US National Institutes of Health Clinical trials registry (Clinicaltrials.gov) (05/02/2020) NCT04253717.

Type de document:	Article
Mots-clés libres:	Exercise Motor control Low back pain Pelvic girdle pain Pregnancy
Date de dépôt:	30 juill. 2026 13:17
Dernière modification:	30 juill. 2026 13:17
Version du document déposé:	Version officielle de l'éditeur
URI:	https://depot-e.uqtr.ca/id/eprint/13087

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