Urinary Incontinence (UI) is a pathological symptom of prevailing importance among the sports population and particularly affects women. Previous studies reported that strenuous physical activities such as weightlifting (WL) and powerlifting (PL), involving the use of high training loads and continuous stress on the pelvic floor muscles, seem to be highly predisposing factors to the development of this disorder. However, there are no studies regarding the prevalence of stress incontinence in female bodybuilding (BB) athletes. This study aim was to study the prevalence of UI during sports activity in a sample of woman WL, PL or BB athletes and to study difference among training variables.
Therefore, the present study is going to be the first that, by focusing not only on the structural cause, but also on the analysis of some training variables, compares the three disciplines, to verify whether they can show different results, despite populations that seem similar in terms of instrumentation used, place of practice and principle of work.

The study protocol was  approved by the ethics committee of the University. A web-based survey containing question on the training and UI was sent to competitive adults (>18 years) athletes in the PL, WL and BB, with or without a diagnosis of UI. The prevalence of UI was estimated among descriptive statistics and differences between groups examined by the chi-square test.

Four hundred and fifteen athletes (mean±SD age=29.5±8.0 years; PL=150, WL=119; BB=146) were included in this study. One hundred and twenty athletes reported UI with a prevalence equal to  28.9%. The majority of the sample (N=98; 81.7%) reported leaking urine once a week or less. A higher prevalence of UI was found in athletes who gave birth, and performed PL (p<0.05). Furthermore, prevalence did not differ between groups when considering training variables (i.e.,playing different sports, level of competition, frequency and training technique of deadlift, squat, clean and jerk, and power snatch) (p>0.05)

Over a quarter of the sample reported UI during sporting activities. The prevalence of UI recorded for each discipline was BB 25.9%, PL 70.5%, WL 30.8% respectively and appears to be influenced by having given birth and the sport practiced, but not by specific training variables

the present observational study deserves further investigation through incidence studies and possible clinical trials to verify whether any changes in training modalities, as well as evaluation and education by pelvic floor professionals, can improve the condition of athletes suffering from urinary incontinence and promote prevention in those who do not suffer from it,  considering the high risk. Even though female BB have a lower prevalence of UI compared to WL, further studies are needed to delve deeper. Into this category

Prevalence of Pelvic Floor Dysfunction, Bother, and Risk Factors and Knowledge of the Pelvic Floor Muscles in Norwegian Male and Female Powerlifters and Olympic Weightlifters Skaug, Kristina Lindquist1; Engh, Marie Ellström2,3; Frawley, Helena4; Bø, Kari1,2
Prevalence and Normalization of Stress Urinary Incontinence in Female Strength Athletes Mahoney, Kaitlin1; Heidel, R. Eric2; Olewinski, Luci3
Is Physical Activity Good or Bad for the Female Pelvic Floor? A Narrative Review Kari Bø1,2 · Ingrid Elisabeth Nygaard3