Abstract
Urinary incontinence (UI) in female athletes can impair their quality-of-life
(QoL) and reduce their participation in sports. This review aims to evaluate the
effect of pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) in treating UI in women
participating in high-impact sports. Furthermore, to assess the influence of
PFMT on pelvic floor muscles (PFM) function and the UI impact on their QoL. For
this purpose, a systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and
non-RCTs was performed. An electronic search was conducted on PubMed, EMBASE,
SciELO, and Scopus. The quality of evidence was assessed using the PEDro and
ROBINS-I scales. The Consensus on Exercise Reporting Template (CERT) was used to
assess the quality of PFMT protocols. All studies were available in full-text
including incontinent female participants who are practitioners of high-impact
sports, investigating PFMT vs control groups(inactive) or undergoing other
treatments. Three RCTs and two non-RCTs (104 participants) were analyzed. PFMT
provided a significant improvement in UI symptoms with a reduction in the
frequency (n=3) and the amount of UI (n=5). PFM function was
assessed in three studies, and two found improvement in maximal contraction and
one in vaginal resting pressure in favor of PFMT. None of the two studies that
assessed QoL found a difference after PFMT intervention.
Key words
pelvic floor - pelvic floor disorders - physiotherapy - sports - women