Investigation of the relationship between pelvic floor awareness and urinary incontinence in young athletes

Objectives: Knowledge and awareness about the pelvic floor are closely related to knowing the function of the pelvic floor muscles (PFM), identifying the risk factors for the PFM, and providing the diagnosis and treatment of possible problems. The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between pelvic floor muscle awareness and urinary incontinence (UI) in young athletes.Methods: One hundred eighty athletes between the ages of 18-26 were included in the study, which was designed as a cross sectional. The UI status, pelvic floor health knowledge level, physical activity level and daily life effects related to incontinence of the athletes were evaluated. One way ANOVA test was used to analyze the presence of UI according to physical activity level. The presence of incontinence and pelvic floor awareness by gender were analyzed by T-test in independent groups.Results: There was no correlation between the pelvic floor awareness of young athletes and the presence of UI (p>0.01). It was determined that the athletes with moderate and vigorous physical activity levels experienced more incontinence than those with low-intensity physical activity (p<0.05). It has been concluded that athletes whose daily life is affected due to UI have more pelvic floor awareness (p<0.01)..Conclusion: Although there is no relationship between the presence of UI and pelvic floor knowledge and awareness in athletes, pelvic floor awareness is higher in athletes whose daily life is affected due to UI.