Ironman Triathlon and Incontinence

As Ironman triathlon athletes increase their bike miles and ride for longer number of hours.  It’s common to be riding for 4+ hours and over 100 miles.  For some, they practice peeing on the bike so that when race day comes, they can save a few minutes having to stop at a portable lavatory.  Then you have to run a marathon to complete the course in 17 hours.  Before you get to bike 112 mikes and run 26.2 miles, you have to swim 2.4 miles.

This might be a time saving choice for some athletes.  However by a study in the Journal of Injury, Function & Rehabilitation done by Dr. Johnny Yi, found that one in three females reported symptoms of incontinence.  While this symptom is common in many, it is more common with those who are more athletic.  Yi said that running, jumping, gymnastics, and heavy weight lifting can be considered high impact on the pelvic floor and redisposed these women to pelvic floor symptoms such as urge incontinence, stress incontinence, constipation or pelvic pain.

You can treat pelvic floor disorder with physical therapy to surgery and Yi recommends continuing the training rather than a complete stop.

To avoid embarrassment of incontinence, many use pads to protective underwear to protect workout gear, triathlon cloths and the bike.

• Click here to find the right product for you. https://www.cwimedical.com/caregivers/incontinence
• Click here to learn more about incontinence https://www.cwimedical.com/what-is-incontinence  

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