Schulte-Frei B1,2, Jäger L1,2
1Hochschule Fresenius, Faculty of Health and Social Science, Köln, Germany, 2ProPhysio GmbH, Cologne, Germany
Background: Urinary Incontinence (UI) gains public awareness in the elderly and among pregnant women. However, this complex of problems is rarely discussed for professional athletes, although recent surveys demonstrate that this subpopulation is particularly affected. Correlations to specified groups of athletes and disciplines have been reported in the past decade, pointing out a neglected predicament. The wide-spread assumption that competitive athletes have a strong pelvic floor musculature that functions well, due to their exceptional proprioceptive skills, is contrasted by numerous surveys that reveal frequent pelvic floor disorders in competitive sports.
Purpose: The aim of this study is to illustrate the prevalence of incontinence in female competitive athletes, focusing on underlying causes, their discipline-specific occurrence, as well as the mutual enhancement of risk-factors. Criteria and causal factors will be elaborated in the field of competitive athletes, as they have highest strain. Consequently, these can be transferred into everyday life of professional - and recreational athletes, trainers, therapists and patients.
Methods: The study is based on a recent systematic review, by the authors [Schulte-Frei & Jäger, 2017] and further pursues the approach by analyzing four disciplinary subgroups: compositional sports, ball sports, athletics and endurance sports. Moreover, causes for sports-related pelvic floor dysfunctions were identified.
Results: Athletes of different disciplines present a varying frequency of incontinence with a prevalence of up to 80% in some disciplines (trampoline).
Independent of the respective discipline, underlying causes for incontinence are structure, training frequency and strain, hormonal status and psychological health. These factors may not only contribute simultaneously but are likely to mutually affect each other.
Conclusion(s): Training programs should incorporate incontinence reducing - and well established preventive measures into training programs. Findings are easily transferable into the daily routine of athletes. Finally, the results are conferrable for therapeutic settings with average patients.
Implications: Due to the high prevalence in certain disciplines and the mutual enhancement of symptoms, the “Female Athlete Triad” might be extended by the symptom incontinence and thus become the “Female Athlete Tetrad”. Moreover, physiotherapeutic options for treatment and preventive measures have to be made aware among professional - as well as recreational athletes, trainers, therapists and patients.
Keywords: athlete, incontinence, female
Funding acknowledgements: Non of the authors recieved any funding.
Purpose: The aim of this study is to illustrate the prevalence of incontinence in female competitive athletes, focusing on underlying causes, their discipline-specific occurrence, as well as the mutual enhancement of risk-factors. Criteria and causal factors will be elaborated in the field of competitive athletes, as they have highest strain. Consequently, these can be transferred into everyday life of professional - and recreational athletes, trainers, therapists and patients.
Methods: The study is based on a recent systematic review, by the authors [Schulte-Frei & Jäger, 2017] and further pursues the approach by analyzing four disciplinary subgroups: compositional sports, ball sports, athletics and endurance sports. Moreover, causes for sports-related pelvic floor dysfunctions were identified.
Results: Athletes of different disciplines present a varying frequency of incontinence with a prevalence of up to 80% in some disciplines (trampoline).
Independent of the respective discipline, underlying causes for incontinence are structure, training frequency and strain, hormonal status and psychological health. These factors may not only contribute simultaneously but are likely to mutually affect each other.
Conclusion(s): Training programs should incorporate incontinence reducing - and well established preventive measures into training programs. Findings are easily transferable into the daily routine of athletes. Finally, the results are conferrable for therapeutic settings with average patients.
Implications: Due to the high prevalence in certain disciplines and the mutual enhancement of symptoms, the “Female Athlete Triad” might be extended by the symptom incontinence and thus become the “Female Athlete Tetrad”. Moreover, physiotherapeutic options for treatment and preventive measures have to be made aware among professional - as well as recreational athletes, trainers, therapists and patients.
Keywords: athlete, incontinence, female
Funding acknowledgements: Non of the authors recieved any funding.
Topic: Women's & men's pelvic health; Sport & sports injuries
Ethics approval required: No
Institution: N/A
Ethics committee: N/A
Reason not required: This work is purely literature-based.
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
