Like millions around the world, we’ve been watching Paris in awe for the past few days. There is nothing like the drama of top athletes competing on the world stage representing the peak of athletic ability and patriotism for their home countries. It’s easy to watch these athletes and think about all of the ways their physicality rises above that of the average person. But in at least one way, we may have more in common with Olympians than it may appear.
After all, one study found that at least 29.6% of elite female athletes face, yes, bladder leaks! Turns out, urine leaks and athletes go together like croissants and the city of lights. And it makes sense: the physical demands of many of our favorite Olympic sports can create the perfect environment for gold medals and, unfortunately, stress incontinence (which is typically what athletes would be dealing with during their training or in competition.) Basically, while those top-tier athletes are flipping, leaping, lunging, and spiking their way to the podium, they are putting an incredible amount of pressure on their pelvic floor. If you’ve ever leaked a little while doing a plank, tuck jumps, or any other exercise, you personally know what can happen next. (Need a refresher? We wrote a whole article on stress incontinence here.) It’s not just the women, either; an estimated 15% of elite male athletes have also experienced pee leaks while playing their sports as well.
Studies show that the higher impact a sport is, the more likely an athlete is to experience stress incontinence. For example, one survey found that nearly 3 of every 4 female volleyball players and 4 of every 5 female rugby players have experienced pee leaks while playing. Other sports with a higher-than-average number of athletes reporting leaks included running, soccer, and trampolining (can’t say the last one surprises us.) One thing that we should all be aware of is that consistently putting the pelvic floor through the kind of stress that causes leaks can overload and chronically damage the muscles of the perineum. So, it’s good to be aware of your pelvic floor contraction and seek the guidance of a healthcare provider if you’re having regular problems with leaking during exercise—shoutout to our searchable directory of pelvic floor therapists!
In reviewing the literature, we noticed that many studies that evaluated elite female athletes and their experiences with urinary incontinence look at nulliparous females–in other words, women who have not given birth. As we know, the experience of childbirth can have a profound and lasting impact on the pelvic floor and the likelihood of leaks. With more and more professional athletes who have given birth competing in the games, we might hypothesize that the numbers of athletes dealing with leaks on the mat, court, field, and scull would be even higher if more Moms were represented.
When we think about the fact that stress incontinence leaks are among the challenges that many athletes face on their road to Olympic greatness, we have even more resolve to normalize conversations about this common experience and question assumptions that leaks are a “normal” consequence of high-intensity training. After all, an estimated 95.5% of athletes never discuss their leaks with a professional. It’s time this narrative made its way to prime-time coverage so more female athletes can be aware of what’s likely causing their stress incontinence leaks and how they might be able to mitigate them.
Sources:
Prevalence of urinary incontinence among elite athletes of both sexes
Prevalence and impact of urinary incontinence among female athletes