Prevalence of urinary incontinence in women practicing team sports in the municipality of Ribeirão Preto-SP

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.22533/at.ed.1594832406093

• Palavras-chave: sport; urinary incontinence; pelvic floor; physiotherapy.

• Keywords: sport; urinary incontinence; pelvic floor; physiotherapy.

• Abstract:

  Urinary incontinence (UI) affects the female population more frequently, and sports that require high impact and intense physical effort are probable risk factors for its development as they progressively overload the pelvic floor structures. Given this context, the aims of this study were to verify the prevalence of UI in women practicing team sports in the municipality of Ribeirão Preto-SP; to investigate their knowledge of the pelvic floor and its dysfunctions, especially female UI; and to correlate the length of time practicing sport and the presence of UI. In terms of methods, this is a cross-sectional observational study in which a convenience sample of 76 women practicing team sports in the city of Ribeirão Preto-SP took part. The data was collected from June 14 to August 31, 2023, through the participants self-completing an online questionnaire via Google Forms, which lasted approximately 15 minutes. The questionnaire included questions about personal data, sports training, knowledge about the pelvic floor and UI. A descriptive analysis of the data was carried out and Spearman's correlation test was used for correlations. As for the results, the average age of the participants was 32.03 (SD:11.51) years, most of whom were single and students. As for the sports practiced, volleyball stood out, being practiced by 56.58% (n=43) of the athletes, surpassing handball, soccer, futsal and basketball. The prevalence of UI was 35.53% (n=27) in the sample investigated, and the predominant situation of urine loss was during sports training. The majority of the athletes, 59.21% (n=45), were unaware of any type of treatment for UI. Knowledge of the pelvic floor was reported by 77.63% (n=59) of the participants, although only 3.95% (n=3) said they had received specific guidance on the pelvic floor during training. There was a correlation between time spent practicing sport and the presence of UI (CI=0.1098-0.5317; r=0.3376; p=0.0035). The data obtained reinforces the need to implement or improve preventive and rehabilitation programs aimed at the pelvic floor among athletes practicing team sports, with a view to improving their sporting performance and quality of life.