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Pelvic Floor in Female Athletes: From Function to Dysfunction

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Women's Health and Biomechanics

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computational Vision and Biomechanics ((LNCVB,volume 29))

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Abstract

Despite the benefits derived from exercise practice, some adverse effects have been described in female athletes. Regarding the problems associated with the pelvic floor, the most commonly reported is urinary incontinence (UI). However, menstrual irregularity, anal incontinence, sexual dysfunction, and eating disorders are also demonstrated among athletes. Practicing sports always involves increased intra-abdominal pressure, but the wide prevalence range of UI found between each sport suggests that some sports could be associated with higher risk than others. Regarding the relation between exercise and pelvic floor dysfunctions, two opposite theories have been suggested: (i) female athletes have strong pelvic floor muscles (PFM); and (ii) female athletes may overload, stretch, and weaken the PFM. Both theories are supported by the results of different studies, suggesting that the mechanism behind exercise-induced UI is not yet completely understood. Rather than a single factor, it is more likely that several environmental and individual factors interact to contribute to pelvic floor dysfunctions. UI negatively affects the quality of life of incontinent women in several domains, which reinforces the need to implement preventive strategies in order to counteract the negative effects of exercise.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiotherapy, CESPU—North Polytechnic Institute of Health, Paredes, Portugal

    Alice Carvalhais

  2. Department of Physiotherapy, Santa Catarina State University, Florianópolis, Brazil

    Thuane Da Roza

  3. School of Kinesiology, Universidad Bernardo O’Higgins, Santiago de Chile, Chile

    Cinara Sacomori

Authors
  1. Alice Carvalhais
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  2. Thuane Da Roza
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  3. Cinara Sacomori
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alice Carvalhais .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, CHSJ-EPE, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Sofia Brandão

  2. Department of Biomechanics, College of Health and Sport Science (CEFID), Santa Catarina State University (UDESC), Florianópolis, Brazil

    Thuane Da Roza

  3. Department of Radiology, CHSJ-EPE, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Isabel Ramos

  4. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, CHSJ-EPE, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Teresa Mascarenhas

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Carvalhais, A., Da Roza, T., Sacomori, C. (2018). Pelvic Floor in Female Athletes: From Function to Dysfunction. In: Brandão, S., Da Roza, T., Ramos, I., Mascarenhas, T. (eds) Women's Health and Biomechanics. Lecture Notes in Computational Vision and Biomechanics, vol 29. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71574-2_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71574-2_12

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-71573-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-71574-2

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