ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Health Education and Promotion
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1664696
Effects of an Innovative Educational Program on Female Athletes' Knowledge and Habits Related to Pelvic Floor Care: A Quasi-Experimental Study
Provisionally accepted
Elena Vico-Moreno1Elisa Bosch-Donate1Juan Carlos Fernández-Domínguez1,2*Andreu Sastre-Munar1Beatriz Bachero-Mena3
Natalia Romero-Franco2,4- 1Universitat de les Illes Balears, Palma, Spain
- 2Fundacio Institut d'Investigacio Sanitaria Illes Balears, Palma, Spain
- 3Universidad de Sevilla, Seville, Spain
- 4University of the Balearic Islands, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
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The physical demands of sports require female athletes to be aware of pelvic floor (PF) care. However, knowledge about PF disorders and unhealthy habits remains insufficient in sports populations. Innovative and specific educational strategies are needed to engage female athletes. This study evaluated the effects of an online educational program on PF knowledge and care habits in female athletes. A three-session online program with practical content and 3D models was implemented. Of the 130 registered athletes (35.9 ± 11.2 years old), 70 fully attended (FA), 23 partially attended (PA), and 37 did not attend (NA). Before and four weeks after the program, participants completed a questionnaire assessing: (1) demographics and sports data; (2) PF symptomatology; (3) knowledge of urinary incontinence (UI), female sexual dysfunction (FSD), ano-rectal incontinence (ARI), and pelvic organ prolapse (POP); and (4) habits during micturition, defecation, and sports practice. FA and PA athletes rated the utility of the program (0-10 scale). After the program, FA athletes showed improved knowledge of UI (p = 0.032), FSD, ARI, and POP (ps < 0.001) compared to baseline and NA athletes (ps < 0.001). FA athletes also reduced unhealthy habits during micturition (p = 0.003) and defecation (p = 0.003), and had fewer unhealthy habits overall compared to NA athletes. The utility of the program was rated 8.4 points. A three-session innovative online educational program proved effective in enhancing PF-related knowledge and improving care habits among female athletes.
Keywords: female, Pelvic Floor Disorders, Education, distance, Sports, habits
Received: 12 Jul 2025; Accepted: 14 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Vico-Moreno, Bosch-Donate, Fernández-Domínguez, Sastre-Munar, Bachero-Mena and Romero-Franco. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Juan Carlos Fernández-Domínguez, Universitat de les Illes Balears, Palma, Spain
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