Urinary incontinence is a health condition that is associated with involuntary leakage of urine. Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) describes involuntary leakage of urine on effort or exertion and can impact one’s ability to participate in activities and affect quality of life. Furthermore, clinical management of this health condition is challenging as individuals who experience urinary incontinence often do not report this concern to a health care provider. Stress urinary incontinence is not typically a health concern associated with young, healthy athletes. However, researchers have begun to examine the presence of this health condition amongst both a younger population and in athletes. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to assess the prevalence of stress urinary incontinence in collegiate female athletes. This study involved the development of an electronic survey tool to assess the prevalence of SUI in the female collegiate athlete. Female collegiate athletes from six different NCAA Division I schools were asked to complete the survey. The overall response rate for the survey was 32.6% (333/1020). Results indicate that SUI does in fact occur in NCAA Division I collegiate female athletes. Overall, 68.5% of female collegiate athletes surveyed reported ever experiencing SUI. During daily life activities (cough, sneeze, laugh), 54.2% of female collegiate athletes reported experiencing SUI. During participation in their sport, 40.0% of female collegiate athletes reported experiencing SUI, referred to as sports-related SUI. When reporting SUI experienced during either sport participation or during other exercise-based activities, 58.2% of female collegiate athletes reported SUI. The proportion of female athletes reporting sports-related SUI varied by sport. The highest prevalence of leakage in sport was reported by gymnasts (80%) and the lowest prevalence was reported by those who participated in rifle (0%). Over half (52.3%) of female athletes who reported sports-related SUI said their symptoms first began in high school. While majority of female collegiate athletes stated they did not avoid their sport because of SUI, one-fifth (20.5%) of athletes with sports-related SUI reported they alter how they move in their sport out of concern for leakage. The impact of sports-related SUI on other aspects of life (family, social, or school life) were reported to be minimal. Athletes who experience sports-related SUI are most likely to tell either a teammate (49%) or no one (36%). Very few female athletes have told someone in healthcare about this concern: doctor (3%), athletic trainer (4%); physical therapist (1%). Furthermore, only 3% of female collegiate athlete with sports-related SUI reported ever seeking treatment and only 25.8% reported they would find value in seeing a healthcare provider to discuss SUI. Most (76.7%) female collegiate athletes, whether they reported SUI or not, stated they had never been instructed on exercises to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles and 60.6% reported they would find educational programs involving exercises to decrease or prevent SUI beneficial. In conclusion, SUI does occur in the female collegiate athlete and is often not reported to healthcare providers. Based on this information, the general practice of screening athletes for relevant health conditions during pre-participation physicals may need to include additional questions for SUI. Further investigation needs to explore how to best engage and educate female collegiate athletes on the subject of SUI and how to successfully communicate with and address those with the condition.

High school coaches play a huge role in establishing a healthy environment for their athletes and often students. The coach-°©‐athlete relationship has proven to be a strong and useful bond in prevention of adverse behaviors of athletes or in prevention of health problems such as concussions. The female athlete triad (triad) is a common health problem among female athletes. Many high school coaches are unaware of the triad or the serious health and performance consequences for their athletes. The triad is a syndrome marked by 3 interrelated adverse effects: decreased energy availability, menstrual dysfunction, and decreased bone mineral density. The Purpose of this study was to develop an online educational resource aimed at educating coaches about the triad. After the online education materials were created and reviewed by small panel groups, the materials were launched online and available to the public with the aim to target high school coaches. We collected online surveys from 90 participants including coaches and parents of high school female athletes and found a lack of knowledge, attitudes, and confidence in preventing the triad. By educating coaches and providing the tools for prevention, we hypothesize that coaches can play a large role in the prevention of the triad among high school athletes and help to keep our student athletes healthy and performing well in school and sports.

Adolescence is a time of increased control over food choices and dietary practices. Participating in high school sports or attending college presents unique nutritional concerns and health risks. Some female high school athletes have low energy availability (consuming inadequate calories to compensate for exercise energy expenditure), which can result in menstrual dysfunction, bone loss, and injury, also known as the female athlete triad (Triad). College students who consume diets low in fruits and vegetables and high in fast food are at increased risk for weight gain, chronic disease, and some cancers. Nutrition education interventions that were tailored to the participants' unique nutritional concerns yielded positive results such as increased Triad knowledge among female high school athletes and increased self-efficacy and readiness to change dietary behaviors among college students. Peer-led education was preferred by college students, but not by high school students.

No description available.

INTRODUCTION: An increase in participation in females sports has created an increase of female athletes at risk for injuring their Anterior Cruciate Ligament(ACL)[12,21,29,44]. Traditional jumping sports have the highest rate of non contact ACL injuries, due to the use of movements of cutting, pivoting and landing on one foot[5,8,32,33,38]. ACL injuries can also be attributed to neuromuscular deficits such as the ‘Ligament Dominance Theory’, ‘Quadricep Dominance Theory’, ‘Trunk Dominance Theory’ and the ‘Leg Dominance Theory’[24,33]. The neuromuscular deficits are muscle strength, power or activation patterns that can cause an individual to have an increased risk of ACL injury[33]. Female traditional jumping sport athletes have been associated with being at a higher risk of ACL injury than their male counterparts due to anatomical, hormonal and neuromuscular differences[2,8,24,28,32,37,38,44,47]. However, female dancers trained with ballet have a lower risk of ACL injury than their female athlete counterparts, but also have a similar ACL injury to their male dancing counterparts [28,37,45,47]. METHODS: This study analyzed six papers that compared the lower body biomechanics of female traditional jumping sport athletes to female dancers trained in ballet. The results of the measurement of this study will be placed into a chart to compare the results of each study to each other, to confirm the results of the comparison between the two populations. The next part of this study will examine unused turnout angle data collected from a previous thesis performed by Ashley Tornio. The data was taken from 20 participants, 15 female traditional jumping sport athletes and 5 female dancers trained in ballet. The averages of these two groups will be compared using an f test to determine differences in the turnout capabilities of each group. RESULTS: The results of the data comparison found only six comparable measurements between the 6 papers. The papers were in agreement that female traditional jumping sport athlete had greater hip adduction moments and trunk forward flexion than female dancers trained in ballet. The papers were also in agreement that there was no statistically significant difference in the knee stiffness between the two populations. There was no consensus for the results of knee valgus angle, knee rotation, muscle activation or leg stiffness between the six papers. For the turnout angle f test, female traditional jumping sport athletes had an average turnout angle of 120.5 degrees and the female dancers trained in ballet had an average turnout angle of 141.2 degrees. It was found that the there was no statistically significant difference between the two populations at the 95% confidence level. However, there was a statistically significant difference between the two populations average turnout at a reduced confidence level of 80%. The DISCUSSION: The limiting number of studies which compare female traditional jumping sport athletes and female dancers trained in ballet, were unable to form consensus on the difference between the biomechanics of each group during a landing task. The turnout angle data was also limited in the number of participants and a valid conclusion was unable to be made determining the ability to use the turnout angle as an indicator for risk of ACL injury. There needs to be continued research on the comparison of the female traditional jumping sport athletes and female dancers trained in ballet to determine the biomechanical advantages female dancers have for protection of the ACL.

No description available.

Ballet dancers are a unique population of athletes in that, unlike other sports, their success strictly depends on both physical capabilities and aesthetic factors. While the physical demands of the performing sport are strenuous, ballet dancers are often required to exhibit a thin physique, frequently resulting in weights 10-12% below the ideal. These low weights are commonly achieved by low energy intakes which increase dancers' susceptibility to the development of various health conditions. Research investigating the health of dancers, however, is limited and hampered by methodological limitations. To address these issues, we tested the hypothesis that dancers would report a low habitual energy intake and, therefore, be subject to conditions comprising the Female Athlete Triad, including low energy availability, suboptimal bone density and menstrual irregularities. In addition, we hypothesized that elite female dancers would have lower than expected resting metabolic rate (RMR) based upon their fat-free mass, and thus greater energetic efficiency as a result of chronic energy deficiency. As hypothesized, dancers reported a significantly lower energy intake and exhibited a lower RMR as compared to lean, pair-matched controls. Because treatment of these metabolic abnormalities is challenging, prevention of adverse health outcomes among adolescent pre-professional dancers is key in promoting overall health and optimal performance. Through our subsequent 'formative work', we determined that the current availability of nutrition education offered to both professional and pre-professional dancers is minimal and of questionable quality. Thus, we developed, implemented, and evaluated a DVD-based educational program, entitled "Nutrition for Optimal Performance", aimed at improving health knowledge and behaviors of pre-professional adolescent ballet dancers. Our findings indicate that participants increased their knowledge of basic nutrition principles and self-efficacy for adopting healthier dietary habits, as compared to pre-program and control group scores, and that knowledge gains were sustained at a six-week follow-up assessment. Collectively, these studies provide the field of dance medicine with novel findings related to the characteristics and health conditions of professional ballet dancers, and the effectiveness of a low-resource, disseminable nutrition education program which promotes the health and optimal performance of pre-professional adolescent ballet dancers. / Ph. D.

Prior research has found the female athlete triad in both female athletes and female non-athletes. This study consisted of 192 female participants attending Utah State University with 103 collegiate athletes and 89 non-athletes. The instruments used included the EAT-26, menstrual cycle history questionnaire, osteoporosis questionnaire, and time spent in exercise questionnaire. Results from the present study found a statistically significant difference between athletes and non-athletes being at risk for the triad with female athletes having a higher percentage (4.8%, 3.4%). No statistical significant correlation was found between the risk of the triad and excessive amounts of time spent in exercise in athletes (r=.113, p=.256) and non-athletes (r=-.041, p=.706). When athletes were divided into lean and non-lean athletes statistical significance was found with non-lean (17.4%) sport athletes (χ²(1,N=103)=83.971, p<.01) having a higher overall percentage of being at risk of the triad compared to the athletes involved in lean (5%) sports.

В диссертации анализируется специфика восприятия женской телесности и конструирования представлений об идеальном женском спортивном теле в современной российской культуре. Предложена авторская модель телесности, включающая эстетический, функциональный и социальный аспекты. Определены особенности восприятия разных типов женской спортивной телесности молодыми российскими мужчинами. / The dissertation explores the patterns guiding the perception of female embodiment and the construction of idealized female athletic body images in contemporary Russian culture. The author proposes an original model of embodiment combining aesthetic, functional and social aspects. The text identifies patterns governing young Russian males’ perceptions of differing types of female athletic embodiment.

Objective: This study investigated the behaviors and characteristics of the adult female endurance runner and potential components of the female athlete triad (FAT). The FAT consists of three components that are interrelated: low energy availability, menstrual dysfunction, and low bone mineral density. Low energy availability may occur with or without disordered eating. Reproduction becomes non-essential leading to irregular menstrual cycles. A reduction in estrogen levels may contribute to low bone mineral density which may lead to stress fractures. Research investigating the FAT has primarily focused on adolescent and young adult females. Adult females training for endurance events may also be at risk for the FAT. Method: A survey was constructed and distributed to females in a local half-marathon and marathon training group in Central Florida. The data was collected at one point in time and no additional follow-up was required. The survey aimed to identify specific behaviors and characteristics related to components of the FAT and determine the potential prevalence in a small sample of female endurance athletes aged 18 and older. Results: 72 females with a mean age of 40.92(± 9.61) years completed the survey. Subjects had an average height of 163.60(±6.41) cm, weighed an average of 62.24(±10.05) kg and had 10 years of running experience. Conclusion: Adult female endurance runners demonstrate behaviors and characteristics that may be indicative of the FAT. Participants demonstrated signs of inadvertent or intentional low energy availability. These characteristics can be due to either body dissatisfaction or wanting to increase performance.