Exercise Dosage and Pelvic Floor Muscle Function in Young Women With and Without Urinary Incontinence
Abstract
Approximately 38% of young, healthy females who have never been pregnant experience urinary incontinence (UI). Some research suggests there may be a correlation between the amount and intensity of physical activity and pelvic floor muscle dysfunction leading to UI in this population. This study used trans-abdominal real-time ultrasound imaging to describe pelvic floor performance in forty-eight females aged 18-30 (n=11 with reported UI, three of whom reported experiencing moderate to severe UI). While vigorous exercise was not significantly related to presence of UI, pelvic floor 64 contraction performance was significantly worse in those women with UI. These findings suggest that education and training may be beneficial in this population.
