Each year, we uncover more about pelvic floor dysfunction in the female athlete population—and the data continues to be striking. A 2014 systematic review by Heath et al. (1) analyzed 21 articles across PubMed, CINAHL, and Web of Science on stress urinary incontinence in female athletes.
The results?
Between 28% and 80% of female athletes experience urinary incontinence.
Yes, you read that right—nearly 1/3 to 4/5 female athletes are leaking during sport. Despite what we know about the impact of high-impact activity and increased intra-abdominal pressure on the pelvic floor, these numbers are still shocking.
What’s more surprising? We’re not seeing these athletes in our clinics.
As a former high school and collegiate athlete, I remember occasional whispers among teammates. A friend even told me several women on our university basketball team were wetting themselves during games—but no one talked about it openly. This study validates what many of us already know clinically and anecdotally: these athletes are silently coping with symptoms they assume are either normal or untreatable.
So the question becomes: how do we reach them before the symptoms worsen—before they encounter pain with intercourse, pregnancy-related dysfunction, or age-related pelvic floor decline?
1. Heath A, Folan S, Ripa B. et. Al. Stress Urinary Incontinence in Female Athletes. Journal of Women’s Health Physical Therapy. 2014;38(3):109.
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