Stress Incontinence during Different High-Impact Exercises in Women: A Pilot Survey

Iman Akef Khowailed, Joelle Pinjuv-Turney, Cathy Lu and Haneul Lee
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Iman Akef Khowailed: College of Rehabilitative Sciences, University of St Augustine for Health Sciences, San Marcos, CA 92069, USA
Joelle Pinjuv-Turney: School of Physical Therapy, Touro University Nevada, Henderson, NV 89014, USA
Cathy Lu: School of Physical Therapy, Touro University Nevada, Henderson, NV 89014, USA
Haneul Lee: Department of Physical Therapy, Gachon University, Incheon 21936, Korea

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 22, 1-9

Abstract: The aim of this survey was to investigate the prevalence of stress urinary incontinence (SUI) among women (primigravida, multigravida, and nulligravida) in high-impact exercise groups—CrossFit, kickboxing, and boot camp. Incontinence Survey was modified to an anonymous online questionnaire. A total of 17 participants, 64.2% reported at least some urinary leakage during exercise. About 85.7% of participants in each of the 3 high-intensity exercise groups exercised >3 h/week. There was no significant difference in the likelihood of urinary leakage between participants who have had at least 1 pregnancy and those who had never been pregnant. CrossFit group were significantly more likely to report urinary leakage than those in the kickboxing and boot camp groups combined ( p = 0.023). The participants did not exhibit typical risk factors, as they were premenopausal, active, and had an average body mass index within the normal range. This pilot survey indicates that all women those who do high-impact exercises are susceptible to stress urinary incontinence (SUI), and that CrossFit poses a greater risk for SUI in terms of more jumping resulting in increased intra-abdominal pressure and ground reaction forces compared to others. Our pilot study indicates that a higher risk of SUI during high impact exercises may exist associated with previous pregnancy but also in nulliparous women.

Keywords: stress urinary incontinence; incontinence; high-intensity exercise; parity; pelvic floor; women’s health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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