Urinary incontinence (UI) is a pelvic floor dysfunction that can affect nulliparous female athletes because of the effect of sports activities on pelvic floor muscles.
To verify and quantify urine loss in nulliparous athletes during 1 hour of sports training using a modified pad test protocol.
Cross-sectional.
Secondary, institutional practice.
Nulliparous athletes (N = 104).
Athletes completed the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Short Form (ICIQ-UI-SF) and underwent a maximal resistance test of the abdominal muscles followed by the new modified pad test during 1 hour of training.
Presence or absence of UI was the dependent variable; the initial hypothesis was that high-impact activities could lead to the development of UI.
Almost 52% of athletes (n = 54) self-reported UI according to the ICIQ-UI-SF score. Of athletes who reported stress or mixed UI (n = 32), only 43.7% (n = 14) reported leakage during the training pad test. Interestingly, 24% of athletes (n = 12) who did not report UI had a positive pad test result. In total, 27.9% of athletes (n = 29) presented a positive pad test result during the training. Mean urinary loss was 1.57 ± 0.4 g.
Athletes did not seem to have a good knowledge of UI symptoms, and the modified pad test could be an alternative to quantify urine loss; however, it is necessary to perform accuracy tests. None of the athletes reported discomfort or decreased performance when performing the pad test.
II.
PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitation. 2018 Sep 01 [Epub ahead of print]
Keyla M Dos Santos, Thuane H da Roza, Soraia C Tonon da Luz, Julia P Hort, Joyce M Kruger, Bruna Schevchenco
Center for Health and Sports Sciences, State University of Santa Catarina, Laboratory of Biomechanics, Rua Pascoal Simone, 358 Coqueiros, Florianópolis, SC, CEP 88080-350, Brazil. Electronic address: ., Physiotherapy Department, Center for Health and Sports Sciences, State University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil., Laboratory of Biomechanics, Physiotherapy Department, Center for Health and Sports Sciences, State University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil.