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Infographic. Having pelvic health conversations within sports settings
  1. Jodie G Dakic1,2,
  2. E Jean C Hay-Smith3,
  3. Kuan-Yin Lin4,
  4. Jill L Cook5,
  5. Helena C Frawley6,7,8
  1. 1 Physiotherapy, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  2. 2 Physiotherapy, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  3. 3 Rehabilitation Teaching and Research Unit, University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand
  4. 4 School and Graduate Institute of Physical Therapy, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
  5. 5 La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  6. 6 Melbourne School of Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  7. 7 The Royal Women's Hospital, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
  8. 8 Mercy Hospital for Women, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia
  1. Correspondence to Jodie G Dakic; jodie.dakic{at}monash.edu

https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2024-108673

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    Accompanying text

    Symptoms of pelvic floor (PF) dysfunction are highly prevalent in female athletes at all levels of sports participation.1 One in three women across all sports experience symptoms such as leaking urine, wind or stool including up to 80% of women participating in high-impact sports or heavy lifting.1 2 In female para-athletes, 28% across all sports experience urinary incontinence.3 One in two women who experience symptoms of PF dysfunction during sport or exercise stop participating in the form of activity.4 Women also report PF symptoms that substantially impact training and performance including reducing training load, avoiding high-impact activities and distraction during competition.2 4 Health and exercise professionals are ideally placed to raise awareness of pelvic health and provide opportunities for symptom disclosure. However, approximately 75% of Australian health and exercise professionals do not screen female athletes for symptoms of PF dysfunction as part of their current practice.5 Among women attending fitness clubs in Oslo, only 8% had received any information on PF muscle training during 12 months …

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    Footnotes

    • X @JodieDakic

    • Contributors JGD, HCF, JLC, EJCH-S and K-YL contributed to the design of the study, generated aims/purpose statement and designed the protocol and interview guide. JGD was responsible for recruitment, conducted interviews and checked transcripts for accuracy. JGD, EJCH-S, K-YL and HCF coded transcripts. JGD conducted quantitative data analysis. All authors were involved in the interpretation of data. JGD worked with a graphical design company (Whiteleaf Solutions) to develop/draft the visual presentation of the infographic. All authors contributed to critical review of infographic and text. JGD is the guarantor.

    • Funding This research was supported by funding from the Physiotherapy Research Foundation Seeding Grant (Grant number: S17-011 [questionnaire]) and the Australian Bladder Foundation Grant (no grant number) managed by the Continence Foundation of Australia (questionnaire and qualitative study). The funders had no input into the study design, data collection, interpretation, analysis or writing of the manuscript.

    • Disclaimer This study addresses the need for more female -specific sports/exercise research. We allowed women ‘a voice’ to inform acceptable screening practices for a sensitive, under-researched topic. Online interviews allowed access through mobile devices/computers, hence women with disability and/or chronic pain who find travel difficult were able to participate. As the questionnaire/interviews were conducted online, it was not available to women without access to computer or mobile device. The research team is an all-female team, with diverse clinical and research expertise from ethnically diverse backgrounds across the Asia-Pacific region.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Patient and public involvement statement Symptomatic women, piloted the questionnaire and interview and provided input on burden/time of participation, appropriateness of questions and interview setup.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.