IMPACT OF CYCLING AND CROSSFIT® PRACTICE ON URINARY INCONTINENCE
Pelvic Floor Disorders. Urinary Incontinence. Exercise. Bicycling. Sedentary Behavior.
Introduction: The pelvic floor (PF) is composed of a set of muscles responsible for continence; support pelvic organs and also act during sexual intercourse. In physical activities, with great impact, there is an overload on the pelvic floor muscles (PFM), especially CrossFit® and cycling, as they require a lot of physical effort, which is performed for a prolonged period of time, generating muscle compensation. Objectives: To evaluate the impact of cycling and CrossFit® sports on symptoms of urinary loss in women who practice these modalities. Methods: This is a cross-sectional and descriptive study with a quantitative approach. Included in the survey were women who practiced CrossFit® and cycling, over 18 years old. An evaluation form containing the urogynecological history, assessment of urinary incontinence using the International Questionnaire on Urinary Incontinence – Short Form (ICIQ-SF), assessment of physical activity using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and the assessment of pelvic floor muscle disorders in quality of life using the Pelvic Floor Disability Index (PFDI-20) questionnaire. The study contains three groups, where the CG (control) is composed of sedentary women. The G1 by women who practiced CrossFit® for more than three months; and G2 women who practiced cycling for more than three months. Results: A total of 119 volunteers were evaluated, where 38 practiced CrossFit®, 42 cycling and 39 sedentary, a total of 22 of these women were excluded, as they met the exclusion criteria. When investigating the results of UI complaints, we found that 37.5% of cyclist participants reported urinary loss. In the intergroup analysis, there was a difference in the IPAQ questionnaire (p=0.00) and there was a moderate positive correlation between the ICIQ-SF and the practice time in the sedentary group.