Session Information
Date: Friday, November 15, 2019
Session Title: Musculoskeletal and Sports Medicine Research Report
Session Time: 12:30pm-2:00pm
Location: Research Hub - Kiosk 8
Disclosures: Colleen M. Fitzgerald, MD, MS: Nothing to disclose
Objective: To determine if the summed Active Straight Leg Raise (ASLR) severity score is immediately reduced by a sacroiliac joint (SIJ) belt and whether patients experience a reduction in pain after 4 weeks of therapy.
Design: Prospective observational cohort study.
Setting: Academic medical center outpatient clinic.
Participants: Pregnant women with posterior pelvic girdle pain (PGP) in second/third trimester.
Interventions: Sacroiliac joint (SIJ) belt over 4 weeks.
Main Outcome Measures: Summed ASLR severity score, pain Numerical Rating Scale (NRS), Perceived Global Impression of Improvement (PGII).
Results: 64 pregnant women were enrolled in the study with 49 completing 4-week follow-up. The average age was 29.04 (SD = 4.93) and BMI was 32.02 (SD = 5.74). The median gestation was 28 (IQR: 23 – 29) weeks and one (IQR: 0 – 2) prior previous delivery. After controlling for BMI and whether patients received additional pain interventions, patients’ immediate belted ASLR score was approximately -2.64 (-3.05 to -2.24) points lower than their non-belted ASLR score at visit 1 (P < .001). At visit 2 patients’ belted ASLR score was approximately -2.13 (95% CI: -2.60 to -1.66) points lower than their non-belted ASLR score (P < .001). After 4 weeks of therapy, patients’ total ASLR score declined by approximately -1.90 (95% CI: -2.56 to -1.23; P < .001) points, and their belted ASLR score declined by approximately -0.84 (95% CI: -1.50 to -0.18) points (P = .01). The change in patients’ belted-ASLR score was comparable to the change in their non-belted ASLR score (Mdiff = 0.56, 95% CI: -0.09 – 1.20; P = .09). Usual pain scores declined by approximately -1.89 (95% CI: -2.55 to -1.23) points after 4 weeks (P < .001). At the end of the study, 81% reported feeling better.
Conclusions: The application of an SIJ belt in pregnancy related PGP provided immediate improvement in both pain and function (assessed by the ASLR).
Level of Evidence: Level I
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
Fitzgerald CM, Marcotte ML, Shannon MB, Iqbal S, Adams WH. The Immediate Impact of Sacroiliac Joint Belt Application on the Active Straight Leg Raise and Pain in Pregnancy Related Pelvic Girdle Pain [abstract]. PM R. 2019; 11(S2)(suppl 2). https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/the-immediate-impact-of-sacroiliac-joint-belt-application-on-the-active-straight-leg-raise-and-pain-in-pregnancy-related-pelvic-girdle-pain/. Accessed May 15, 2025.« Back to AAPM&R Annual Assembly 2019
PM&R Meeting Abstracts - https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/the-immediate-impact-of-sacroiliac-joint-belt-application-on-the-active-straight-leg-raise-and-pain-in-pregnancy-related-pelvic-girdle-pain/