Why Pelvic Health is a fitness industry convo
I know it may seem like the fitness industry takes a massive side step around pelvic health and talking about pelvic floor symptoms in exercise…
And I have had the experience of gym owners and other coaches saying “we don’t have that problem here” or “why bother with pelvic health”.
But the two are intimately intertwined as I’ll explain in my blog below.
Reason 1 - it's happening in the gym and in sport
Research shows it’s not just about sneezing and leaking…
- Nygaard et al, 1994 found 28% of university athletes had stress incontinence during sport
- Incontinence Affects up to 50% of all women whilst exercising & 84% of those who do CrossFit (Elks et al, 2020)
- The most likely movements to elicit pelvic floor symptoms are jumping, running & lifting (thyssen et al,
Reason 2 -It's negatively affecting participation and behaviour
Research by Dakic et al, 2021 showed how pelvic floor symptoms negatively affecting both participation, but also changed peoples behaviour in exercise.
- Of 4556 women, 46% stopped exercise they had previously participated in due to their Pelvic floor symptoms
- Common exercise modifications included lowering the intensity (58%) or frequency (34%) of participation or changing to a low-impact form of sport/exercise (45%)
Reason 3 - Movement strategies can positively influence symptoms
There is so much of what we do as fitness professionals that can positively influence pelvic floor symptoms.
- Breathwork can help coordination of the entire core (incl pelvic floor!) and better manage pressure
- Movement has variety! Finding ways for leak/symptom-free movement
- Training up to symptom level can be useful in building more capacity
- Bracing techniques which spread pressure v pressure downwards on the pelvic floor
Reason 4 - Pelvic Health overlaps with other areas of health & fitness
We are now seeing links between low energy availability and incontinence (alongside other issues such as bone mineral density and risk of injury)
- A study by Whitney et al, 2021 showed urinary incontinence was significantly associated with low energy availability
- Plus, 2 x more likely to have incontinence if underfuelling
- Females experiencing painful sex are more likely to be younger and have a lower BMI
As a FitPro you can help and support your clients experiencing pelvic floor symptoms
There isn’t much chat about pelvic health in the fitness industry. It tends to be ignored, downplayed or put into a box called “women’s issues” and not discussed. But it can be a huge barrier to participation in exercise (and life in general). If you’re a fitness or movement professional and you’d like to learn how to feel confident discussing pelvic health, as well as being able to adapt your coaching and programming to help improve clients pelvic floor symptoms, click below.
About the author
Beth Davies is a highly experienced personal trainer and coach who has been working in the fitness industry for 13 years. With over a decade of pregnancy and post-natal experience and almost a decade of working with female pelvic health clients, she is now educating fitness and movement professionals with her “Pelvic Health for Fitness & Movement Professionals” course.