Pelvic Floor Distress and Sexual Function Across Self-Reported Primary Exercise Modalities in Physically Active...

Area of Science:

• Exercise science
• Pelvic floor health
• Female sexual function

Background:

• High-impact exercise may increase pelvic floor loading.
• Pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD) is reported in active women, but findings are inconsistent in young nulliparous women.
• This study investigates exercise modality's impact on PFD and sexual function in this demographic.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the relationship between exercise modality and pelvic floor distress.
• To assess the impact of exercise type on sexual function in physically active nulliparous women.
• To determine if different exercise modalities are associated with varying levels of pelvic floor distress or sexual function.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional survey of 103 physically active nulliparous women (aged 18-30).
• Participants completed the Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory-20 (PFDI-20) and Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI).
• Data on primary exercise modality, frequency, and duration were collected; statistical analyses included Welch's ANOVA and Spearman correlations.

Main Results:

• No statistically significant differences in PFDI-20 or FSFI scores were found across exercise modalities (aerobic, yoga/Pilates, strength/cardio, powerlifting, CrossFit).
• Effect sizes for differences in pelvic floor distress and sexual function scores across exercise types were negligible to small.
• Weak exploratory correlations were observed between pelvic floor distress and some sexual function domains.

Conclusions:

• No significant differences in pelvic floor distress or sexual function were detected among different exercise modalities in this cohort.
• Findings suggest that self-reported exercise type may not be a significant differentiator for pelvic floor distress or sexual function in this population.
• Further adequately powered longitudinal studies with objective pelvic floor assessments are warranted to confirm these exploratory results.