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When a person suffers from urinary leakage, they tend, in order not to aggravate the situation, to stop all sporting activity. To fight against this received idea, the French Association of Urology (AFU), on the occasion of the week of continence 2023, launches a campaign to remind that “we must stop the leaks, not the sport!”
From March 20 to 26 is Continence Week 2023. There is indeed a real need to talk about this problem, which is still taboo today. “Incontinence affects many people who dare not talk about it, give up consulting a urologist, stop sport, all physical activity, or even become dissociated. indicates Pr Véronique Phé, vice-president of the French Association of Urology in charge of communication and urologist at the Tenon hospital in Paris.
What is incontinence?
Incontinence is defined as the involuntary loss of urine resulting in a social and hygienic problem. According to the various epidemiological studies, it is estimated that between 3 and 3.5 million people are confronted with this problem in France.
Women are the most affected and represent 70% of incontinent people. Even if incontinence is more common among people over 55, it is not absent among younger people.
There are different types of incontinence:
- Stress urinary incontinence, created by a weakness of the muscles of the perineum and the urinary sphincter which keep the bladder closed and naturally prevent the flow of urine. When these muscles can no longer perform their function, an increase in abdominal pressure (coughing, sneezing, physical exertion, laughing) can cause leaks;
- Incontinence due to overactive bladder, which generates pressing desires (urges) that cannot be repressed. The problem is not mechanical but involves the bladder, which contracts too soon and for no reason;
- Mixed urinary incontinence which is the association of stress incontinence and unstable bladder incontinence;
- Overflow incontinence is the most common form in humans. Due to a disturbance in the evacuation function of the bladder (by increasing the volume of the prostate, for example), it generates an overflow, which can lead to a weakening of the bladder muscle, resulting in permanent leakage of urine in drops. . When the origin of the incontinence is unknown, it is called psychogenic or idiopathic incontinence.
To avoid aggravating this problem, people who suffer from it tend to avoid any sporting activity. “However, sport and more broadly physical activity not only can still be practiced but it has now been widely demonstrated that they are beneficial for everyone’s health and well-being” adds Véronique Phé.
To break this received idea, the AFU had the idea of shooting a film featuring two women and a man, concerned by urinary incontinence and who, contrary to what the voiceover announces, continue their sporting activity. : cycling, yoga or jogging.
A good way to remember that in addition to a sporting activity, a consultation with a specialist is necessary, in order to obtain appropriate care. Moreover, the health professional is also an essential support, to allow an accompaniment towards a physical activity adapted to his state of health.
A campaign also broadcast on social networks
In addition to the Internet, this campaign is also widely relayed on the AFU’s social networks, in particular its Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn pages. The opportunity to raise awareness among the wider world and come back to the various questions frequently asked by patients with urinary incontinence.
“For us, urologists, members of the AFU, it is a question of addressing those for whom the Internet has become a space for health information. Faced with the taboo that incontinence still represents, it is more than ever essential to meet the people affected. concludes the specialist.