According to a study by Ingrid E. Nygaard, M.D., prolonged high-impact activity does not contribute to women’s urinary incontinence later in life. Nygaard’s study compared women Olympic athletes who participated in high-impact sports, such as gymnastics and track-and-field, with female Olympian swimmers (low-impact).
In the study, there was no significant difference in the prevalence of urinary incontinence symptoms between the women who did high-impact sports and the women who participated in low-impact sports.
In other words, participation in high-impact sports does not cause women’s urinary incontinence later in life.
The Exception to the Rule …
However, women who already have urinary incontinence will find that participation in high-impact sports may worsen their existing symptoms. Studies indicate that women who experience urine leakage, especially from stress urinary incontinence (SUI), leak less when they participate in lower-impact exercises, such as swimming or walking.
Luckily, any woman who experiences urinary incontinence can use a variety of conservative approaches to reduce symptoms, and can often return to a regular exercise routine.
If you leak urine and would like to return to your regular exercise program, a great place to start is to test the strength of your pelvic floor muscles, and then learn to do a correct pelvic floor contraction, also called a Kegel. It’s all in our free ebook called “What’s Up Down There?”
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