NCT06623045

Impact of a 12-Week Pelvic Floor Training on Urinary Incontinence in Functional Fitness Training Athletes

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 21 (actual)
• Sponsor: Universidad Politecnica de Madrid · Academic / Other
• Sex: Female
• Age: 18 Years – 65 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

Functional fitness training (FFT) is a prominent exercise regimen, that has emerged as the dominant fitness trend of the 21st century , advocating high-intensity exercises with repetitive, impactful movements that often result in increased intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) and neuromuscular fatigue. This demanding training pattern, characterized by minimal rest pauses, has been associated with potential health concerns, particularly urinary incontinence (UI). In athletes, UI is intricately connected to the frequency of exposure to increased IAP during high-impact activities. These activities assume even greater significance in sports, particularly in FFT, where there is an increased frequency of impactful foot contact on the ground and intensive abdominal exercises, potentially correlating with the overload of the pelvic floor muscles and the emergence of dysfunctions. Therefore, this study aims to examine the effects of a 12-week training program focused on Kegel exercises performed with diaphragmatic breathing in nulliparous female FFT athletes. The central hypothesis postulates that after the 12-week intervention, these women will exhibit enhancements in both the muscular activation and contractile capacity of their pelvic floor, leading to a reduction in instances of urine leakage.

Conditions

• Strength
• Muscle Activation
• Urinary Incontinence (UI)

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Pelvic floor muscle training intervention	The training program consisted of 12 weeks of PFM exercises, 3 times per week, with each session lasting between 10 and 15 minutes. The program followed different stages through the weeks: (1) proprioception of pelvic floor muscles activation and integration with diaphragmatic breathing, (2) stabilization and strengthening of the pelvic floor musculature through progressive overloading, and (3) transference of these exercises to FFT practice. During the 12 weeks, short contractions (2") were combined with longer ones (5 to 10"), carrying out the progressive overload by increasing the number of contractions, the duration of the contraction, or by evolving the execution position towards more upright postures and sporting movements.

Timeline

• Start date: 2023-04-23
• Primary completion: 2023-07-06
• Completion: 2023-09-10
• First posted: 2024-10-02
• Last updated: 2024-10-02

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Spain