Circulating levels of relaxin are normal in pregnant women with pelvic pain

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0301-2115(97)00076-6Get rights and content

Abstract

Objective: The hormone relaxin induces loosening of the pelvic ligaments and joints in several species. Previous studies have suggested a similar role for relaxin during human pregnancy. Furthermore, a correlation has been noted between high circulating levels of this hormone and severe pelvic pain in pregnant women. The present study was designed to evaluate whether serum relaxin concentrations were elevated in pregnant women with clear subjective and objective evidence of pain attributable to relaxation of the pelvic ligaments.

Study design: Serum relaxin was measured at week 33 of gestation in 455 pregnant women with clearly defined pain in their pelvic joints and 455 normal pregnant controls matched for age and parity. All participants underwent an examination consisting of a structured questionnaire and fifteen specific tests for pelvic joint pain. The group with pain was further subdivided into four subgroups with different levels of disability and prognosis. Relaxin concentrations were measured using enzyme-linked immunoassay.

Results: There was no difference in serum relaxin concentration between the control and study group, nor between the subgroups of women with pelvic pain.

Conclusion: We failed to confirm an earlier claim that circulating relaxin levels are related to pelvic girdle pain in pregnant women.

References (9)

There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

Cited by (60)

  • Association Between Pregnancy-Related Hormones and Lumbopelvic Pain Characteristics in Pregnant Women: A Scoping Review

    2021, Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics
    Citation Excerpt :

    Table 1 presents the risk of bias assessment summary. The most common risk of bias was selection risk of bias (7 studies),26-34 followed by selective reporting risk of bias (6 studies),26,28,30,32-34 attrition risk of bias (4 studies),26,28,32,33 and other26,28,30,34 risk of bias (4 studies). An association between relaxin levels and LBPP presence or severity was found in 4 studies out of 928,31-33 (1 study classified as having a low risk of bias, 2 studies as having a moderate risk of bias, and 1 study as having a high risk of bias).

  • Low back pain in pregnancy

    2021, Revue du Rhumatisme Monographies
  • Low Back Disorders

    2020, Braddom's Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
  • Low Back Pain

    2018, Braddom's Rehabilitation Care: A Clinical Handbook
View all citing articles on Scopus
View full text