Effects of Nordic Walking on Prenatal Health

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).

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.