Health. Urinary effort incontinence affects 49 % of professional rugby players in France

This is a question still taboo in high -level Sport: urinary effort incontinence. A recent study reveals that 49.4 % of players inANDLite 1, who agreed to participate, had sudden leaks during physical effort. This embarrassment is caused by the intense solicitation of the perineum, that is to say all the muscles located between the pubis and the coccyx, during the practice of a sport. The movements exert pressure on the bladder, which weakens the muscles and ligaments of the perineum and causes involuntary urinary leaks.

Very sought after in rugby, the perineum is subject to intense shocks and a repetition of efforts. “Having them [des fuites urinaires, n.d.l.r.]even rarely, is already a problem. The athlete can undergo a loss of performance due to the weakness of the perineum, underlined Carole Maître, co-author of the study, on Franceinfo. This is why, it is important to work on the perineum as much as the abs. If this first is not taken into account, the intra-abdominal pressure will escape by relying on it, “explains the gynecologist at the National Institute of Sport, Expertise and Performance (INSEP).

An impact in daily life

According to this study, carried out with the support of the French Rugby Federation and the Public Health Institute for Epidemiology and Development of Bordeaux, the players whose BMI is high, in particular the forwards, are The most affected by urinary leaks. Among the 159 players interviewed, a third party declared that these fruits have a negative impact on their sports practice. Apart from the lawns, one in four players is assigned in her daily life.

The researchers identified several risk factors in matches or training. The jump is the main cause, due to the high intra-abdominal pressure. Then come the reception during jumps, tackles, sprints, load port and “concentric strengthening of the abdominals”.

This pathology, which mainly affects women, is not limited to the oval ball. SElon Carole Maître, questioned by franceinfo, eIt would impact the practice of “more than 50 % of high -level sportsmen”. However, this embarrassment is little publicized in female sport and in society, as evidenced by an Ifop survey, carried out in 2018, in which 57 % of French women under 35 considered urinary incontinence as a taboo subject.

The results of the study, published in The Revue Science & Sports show that 30 % of the players have never spoken of it while only one of them approached it with a sports doctor. The question is still delicate in rugby and high level sport. But speech is released, as confirmed by the conclusions of the study: 60 % of players wish to “exchange information” on this problem.

The authors of the study highlight the “insufficient primary prevention” within the teams and note “a delay diagnostic”, as well as “a still fragile secondary prevention”. They call for “breaking the taboo”.

However, the study sample is low, because theANDLite 1, the French first division championship has more than 350 players. Currently 5^ethe FC Grenoble Amazones is in the running to hang a place in the final phase. The Bordeaux stadium has won the last two editions.