Silent Struggles: Pelvic Floor Dysfunction in Female Gaelic Games players
ABSTRACT
Context:
Ladies Gaelic football and Camogie are popular amateur women’s sports in Ireland and globally. Pelvic floor dysfunction is a highly prevalent condition among female athletes. However, despite its impact on quality of life and performance, pelvic floor dysfunction (not only bladder issues, but also bowel, prolapse symptoms and sexual dysfunction) is under researched in Gaelic games players.
Objective:
To evaluate the prevalence of pelvic floor dysfunction symptoms (bladder, bowel, pelvic organ prolapse and sexual dysfunction) in female Gaelic games players and investigate whether pelvic floor dysfunction symptoms differ according to age, BMI, level of competition, weekly participation in Gaelic games, history of childbirth or mode of delivery on pelvic floor dysfunction.
Design:
Cross-sectional study.
Setting:
Online survey to Ladies Gaelic football and/or Camogie players.
Patients or Other Participants:
Current adult women’s Gaelic games players (n=780) at any level.
Main Outcome Measures:
The survey included a demographic section and the Australian Pelvic Floor Questionnaire (APFQ).
Results:
Over half of players reported clinically meaningful pelvic floor dysfunction (52.9%), with 55.3% experiencing stress urinary incontinence, 39.4% urge urinary incontinence, 32.1% mixed urinary incontinence, 54.0% anal incontinence, 11.1% faecal incontinence, 9.4% prolapse symptoms and 57.6% sexual dysfunction. Other common symptoms experienced included faecal urgency (62.4%) and constipation (57.2%). A statistically significant difference between total APFQ scores was observed between age (p<0.001, η²=0.03), BMI (p=0.003, η²=0.02), level of competition (p<0.001, η²=0.04), and history of childbirth (p<0.001, d=0.50).
Conclusions:
Pelvic floor dysfunction is prevalent among women participating in Gaelic games. Thus, greater visibility, awareness, proactive screening and embedding pelvic floor training programmes and education into routine strength and conditioning, are required to aid players in their long-term health and performance. Targeted interventions are particularly needed for older players, those with a higher BMI, take part in Gaelic4Mothers&Others/Social Camogie or play at the elite level and/or have previously given birth.
Contributor Notes