Quantification of Urinary Loss in Nulliparous Athletes During 1 Hour of Sports Training

Background Urinary incontinence (UI) is a pelvic floor dysfunction that can affect nulliparous female athletes because of the effect of sports activities on pelvic floor muscles. Objectives To verify and quantify urine loss in nulliparous athletes during 1 hour of sports training using a modified pad test protocol. Design Cross‐sectional. Setting Secondary, institutional practice. Participants Nulliparous athletes (N = 104). Methods Athletes completed the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire‐Short Form (ICIQ‐UI‐SF) and underwent a maximal resistance test of the abdominal muscles followed by the new modified pad test during 1 hour of training. Outcomes Presence or absence of UI was the dependent variable; the initial hypothesis was that high‐impact activities could lead to the development of UI. Results Almost 52% of athletes (n = 54) self‐reported UI according to the ICIQ‐UI‐SF score. Of athletes who reported stress or mixed UI (n = 32), only 43.7% (n = 14) had leakage during the training pad test. Interestingly, 24% of athletes (n = 12) who did not report UI had a positive pad test result. In total, 27.9% of athletes (n = 29) presented a positive pad test during the training. Mean urinary loss was 1.57 ± 0.4 g. Conclusion Athletes did not seem to have a good knowledge of UI symptoms, and the modified pad test could be an alternative to quantify urine loss; however, it is necessary to perform accuracy tests. None of the athletes reported discomfort or decreased performance when performing the pad test. Level of Evidence II