Effects of Nordic Walking on Prenatal Health (Nordic Walking)

Effects of Nordic Walking on Prenatal Health: A Focus on Gait Kinematics, Musculoskeletal Pain, and Quality of Life. A Randomized Controlled Trial.

This randomized controlled trial (RCT) aimed to evaluate the effects of Nordic walking (NW) on gait kinematics, musculoskeletal pain, and quality of life in pregnant women.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Walking; Prenatal Care
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Prenatal Nordic Walking

Detailed Description

Healthy pregnant women (N=50), aged 20-40 years and between 13 and 28 weeks of gestation, experiencing mild to moderate musculoskeletal pain, will be recruited. Participants will be randomized into either an intervention group (NW training) or a control group receiving standard prenatal care. The intervention group will undergo a 4-week learning phase followed by an 8-week NW program (3 sessions per week, 45 minutes per session), led by a certified instructor. Outcome measures will be assessed at baseline, after 4 weeks, and post-intervention (8 weeks), including spatiotemporal gait parameters (will be assessed using the GAITRite system), musculoskeletal pain (will be measured via Visual Analog Scale, VAS), and quality of life (will be measured using the SF-36 Health Survey).

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 55
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Saudi Arabia
  • Alkharj
    • Riyadh, Alkharj, Saudi Arabia, 11942
      • Department of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University.

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Healthy women aged 20 to 40 between 13 and 28 weeks into singleton pregnancy.
• Participants must be experiencing mild to moderate musculoskeletal discomfort, such as lower back or pelvic pain,
• Participants have no prior musculoskeletal or neurological diseases.
• They must have no contraindications to exercising throughout pregnancy, as established by obstetrician clearance, and be able to engage in moderate physical activity under medical recommendations

Exclusion Criteria:

• History of diseases affecting bony structures or lumbar intervertebral discs.
• Pain caused by non-musculoskeletal factors (such as urinary tract infections or obstetric complications).
• Multiple pregnancies, pre-existing mobility conditions, and high-risk pregnancies or complications that restrict physical activity.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Intervention group; It will be receiving Nordic walking training	Other: Prenatal Nordic Walking; Traditional Nordic walking poles will be modified according to International Nordic Walking Federation guidelines, which meant that the elbows were bent at a 90°angle when holding the poles in a vertical position. Nordic Walking will be conducted in two phases consisting of a 4-week learning phase followed by an 8-week main phase of intervention.
No Intervention: Control Group; This group will receive a standard prenatal care, which included routine obstetric check-ups and general advice on physical activity

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Spatial gait parameters	A GAITRite system will be used to assess the spatial parameters of gait	20 minutes
Temporal parameters of gait	A GAITRite system will be used to assess the temporal parameters of gait	20 minutes

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Visual Analog Score for musculoskeletal pain	The Visual Analog Score is depicted as a 10 cm horizontal line divided into 1 cm sections, each representing 1 point, resulting in a score ranging from 0 to 10 points. Higher scores mean worse outcome.	5 minutes
Quality of life	The SF-36 Health Survey will be used to determine the results.	10 minutes

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Jazan
• Investigators: Study Director: Nadia L Radwan, PHD, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): November 5, 2024
• Primary Completion (Actual): May 6, 2025
• Study Completion (Actual): June 29, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 1, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 1, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): November 4, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): July 8, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 7, 2025
• Last Verified: November 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: quality of life; pregnancy; musculoskeletal pain; gait parameters; Prenatal health Nordic walking
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Musculoskeletal Diseases; Muscular Diseases; Musculoskeletal Pain
• Other Study ID Numbers: RHPT/024/016 (Other Identifier: Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No