| Abstrakt: |
Introduction & Objectives: Compared with men, women participate in organised sport at a lower rate, and encounter unique barriers to participation.1 One in three women across all sports experience pelvic floor (PF) symptoms such as urinary incontinence during training/competition.2 Despite this, there is sparse qualitative research on the experience of women who play sport/exercise with PF symptoms. Through in-depth semi-structured interviews, we explored the experiences of symptomatic women within sports/exercise settings and the impact of PF symptoms on sports/exercise participation. Methods: A qualitative descriptive design was used. Random women from an existing database were invited to participate in a semi-structured interview via online platform (Zoom). Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analysed using inductive qualitative content analysis, managed via NVivo software. Patterns of women's experiences within the data were identified, leading to development of a coding scheme that was then applied to all data. Codes were merged or linked to form themes representing the latent meaning of the content and agreed on in discussion by the research team. Quotations were selected to illustrate themes. Information power guided the decision to cease recruitment. Included participants (n=23) were 18-65-year-old women (average age 46.2 years), residing in Australia who had experienced a breadth of PF symptoms (96% urinary incontinence, 35% pelvic organ prolapse and 48% anal incontinence) whilst exercising (in the past or currently). Women needed a conversational level of English to participate. Results: Participants played a variety of sports and levels of participation (78% recreational). We identified four main themes: (i) I can't exercise the way I would like to, (ii) it affects my emotional and social well-being, (iii) where I exercise affects my experience and (iv) there is so much planning to be able to exercise. Women reported wide-ranging impact on their ability to participate in their preferred type, intensity and frequency of exercise. Women perceived judgement from others, anger, fear of symptoms becoming known and isolation from teams/group exercise settings as a consequence of symptoms. Meticulous and restrictive coping strategies were needed to limit symptom provocation during exercise, including limiting fluid intake and careful consideration of clothing/ containment options (Table 1). The culture of the sporting environment influenced whether women continued or ceased exercising - positive role models (other members or support staff), education and re-design of uniform to allow covert containment of leakage were strategies identified to promote a positive culture. Conclusions: Experiencing PF symptoms during sport/exercise caused considerable limitation to participation. Generation of negative emotions and painstaking coping strategies to avoid symptoms, limited the social and mental health benefits typically associated with sport/exercise in symptomatic women. In order to promote women's participation in sport, co-designed strategies for (i) screening and management of PF symptoms and (ii) promotion of a supportive and inclusive culture within sports/exercise settings are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
