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A. Mércia Pascon Barbosa1,2, M. Peloggia Cursino2, R. Cristina Rodrigues2, C. Baldini Prudencio1, C. Rodrigues Pedroni2
1Botucatu Medical School (FMB), São Paulo State University (UNESP), Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Botucatu, Brazil, 2School of Philosophy and Sciences, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Department of Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy, Marilia, Brazil
Background: Regular physical activity has a positive effect as preserving the quality of life. However, when practiced intensely can overwhelm the body and generate consequences as intra-abdominal pressure increasement, resulting in urine loss. Urinary incontinence (UI) can bring discomforts of social order, and bring harm to health.
Purpose: The objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of urinary incontinence and its subtypes in competitive athletes.
Methods: 80 competitive women athletes who participate in sports championships for more than two years were included and UI questionnaires were collected. To analyze the data we used simple percentage to quantify the data obtained from questionnaires.
Results: From 80 athletes, 75% (60) reported urinary incontinence. Urinary incontinence were more common during day-to-day activities, from 60 athletes who had UI, 77% of athletes reported urine leak during day-to-day activities, while 42,5% reported UI during training and 29% UI episodes during competition . UI were more prevalent in older athletes but when compared by the time experience in the sports activity, athletes with longer period in the sport had less UI than the athletes with less time-experience in the sports.
Conclusion(s): We conclude that the prevalence of urinary incontinence in female athletes is high and the most frequent type is mixed UI (MUI), but it is not linked to the time of sports practice.
Implications: There is a very high prevalence of urinary incontinence in women athletes.So it is important to emphasize the need to better understanding the patho-physiology, the muscular behaviour and the previous urinary incontinence status from this population to formulate preventive and rehabilitative recommendations.
Funding, acknowledgements: None
Keywords: Urinary Incontinence, Athletes, women
Topic: Sport & sports injuries
Did this work require ethics approval? Yes
Institution: São Paulo State University (UNESP), Marilia, São Paulo State, Brazil
Committee: Research Ethics Committee of School of Philosophy and Sciences
Ethics number: 0749/2013
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
