Incontinence in Elite Female Athletes

Abstract

Urinary incontinence has been a common problem in female athletes. In previous studies it has been shown that over 50% of elite female athletes have experienced inadvertent urine loss1. There are three different types of urinary incontinence: stress, urge, and mixed2. The stress related incontinence is defined as the “involuntary leakage on effort or exertion”3, examples of such effort include, but are not limited to, sneezing, coughing, and exercise. The urge related incontinence is defined as the “involuntary leakage accompanied by or immediately proceeded by urgency.”3 Finally the mixed related incontinence is defined as the “involuntary leakage associated with urgency and also with exercise, effort, sneezing, and coughing.”3