Association of Urinary Incontinence and Landing Forces in Nulliparous Athletes

Authors

Nikolas Keratsopoulos, University of Mary Hardin-BaylorFollow
Jaci Kelly, University of Mary Hardin-BaylorFollow
Kindyle Brennan, University of Mary Hardin-BaylorFollow
Peggie Williamson, University of Mary Hardin-BaylorFollow
Laurel Proulx, Baylor UniversityFollow
Mandy E. Parra, School of Exercise and Sport Sciences, University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, Belton, TX, USAFollow

Abstract

Pelvic floor (PF) research in nulliparous athletes is emerging to better monitor PF health in female athletes who undergo high impact forces which may cause stress urinary incontinence (SUI) during activity. The link between the pelvic floor and deceleration is not well understood in an active population. This may help clinicians to better diagnose and prevent UI and PF dysfunction. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between peak braking forces and urinary incontinence in Division III acrobatics and tumbling athletes. METHODS: Twenty-one female acrobatic and tumbling athletes volunteered for this study. Data was filtered to include only subjects (n = 14; 163.4 ± 8.4 cm; 65.9 ± 10.9 kg) that completed all testing and questionnaires. Participants completed the PFDI-20 questionnaire to provide information of potential pelvic floor dysfunctions, only the urinary section of the PFDI-20 (PFDI-U) was utilized to monitor urinary dysfunction. Participants then performed two drop jumps off of a 24-inch box onto Hawkin Dynamic force plates to measure peak braking force (PBF) RESULTS: Left leg PBF was inversely related to PFDI-U (R = -0.583, p = 0.029) and right leg PBF was inversely related to PFDI-U (R = -0.538, p = 0.047). CONCLUSION: In the current study PBF was significantly negatively correlated with incidence of reported SUI according to the PFDI-U. PBF represents the vertical ground reaction force applied to the center of mass during the eccentric of braking phase of a drop jump. Therefore, a decrease in PBF may predict incidence of SUI according to the PFDI-U. By measuring the relationship between PBF and urinary symptoms, practitioners may better understand dysfunctions associated with SUI in impact athletes. This may promote athlete readiness screening and allow practitioners and coaches to address SUI and PF dysfunction symptoms through therapeutic interventions.

Recommended Citation

Keratsopoulos, Nikolas; Kelly, Jaci; Brennan, Kindyle; Williamson, Peggie; Proulx, Laurel; and Parra, Mandy E. (2025) "Association of Urinary Incontinence and Landing Forces in Nulliparous Athletes," International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings: Vol. 2: Iss. 17, Article 180.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/ijesab/vol2/iss17/180