CAFIS now has the Pelvic Floor Care Center

Few women know, but performing high-impact physical exercise can cause pelvic floor problems such as urinary incontinence from genital prolapse – a drop or externalization of an organ or part of it. A study carried out with 233 athletes from the University of Porto showed that 29% of them had urinary incontinence. In France, in the Laboratory of Functional Exploration of the Nervous System, a similar study with collegiate athletes showed that, among athletes, 28% had some degree of urine loss, against 9,8% in the control group.

In order to welcome and treat women with pelvic floor problems such as urinary incontinence, genital prolapse and sexual dysfunctions, the Faculty-Assistance Outpatient Clinic of Escola Bahiana de Medicina e Saúde Pública (ADAB), through its Advanced Physiotherapy Clinic (CAFIS) has just launched the Pelvic Floor Care Center (CAAP), yet another unique and completely free service. Always meeting on Wednesdays, from 13 pm, the CAAP offers lectures, medical care, physiotherapy and psychology. 

The service counts on the participation of undergraduate and graduate students and professors, coordinated by Prof. Dr. Patrícia Lordêlo. The service is aimed at teenagers and women through the Unified Health System, and the patient only needs to present the SUS card and an identification document with a photo.


Urinary incontinence and high-impact physical exercise
According to Dr. Patrícia Lordêlo, with high-impact exercises, there is an increase in intra-abdominal pressure, causing an overload on the perineal musculature and possibly displacing the organs from their original location. She explains that "urinary incontinence is defined as any involuntary loss of urine. It is a symptom that can have different causes. For example, if the loss occurs on exertion, it may be due to incompetence of the muscles that support these organs, which may also cause bladder prolapse (“drooping bladder”); if effortless loss occurs, the cause may be a change in bladder innervation (overactive bladder). Women are much more likely to leak urine, but this symptom can appear in any stage of human life, regardless of age and sex".

In addition to urinary incontinence and genital prolapse, other problems are linked to the female pelvic floor, such as fecal incontinence and sexual dysfunctions: pain during sexual intercourse, difficulty in penetration, difficulty in orgasm.

The physiotherapist also informs that the treatment carried out at the CAAP offers a high possibility of cure that will depend on the type and cause of the problem, in an average of eight physiotherapy sessions, carried out once a week. The treatment brings together a group of physical therapy techniques such as radiofrequency, biofeedback, electrical stimulation, specific exercises and functional training. “Each case is different, but we have an average expectation of eight sessions, regardless of the patient's age”, he says. The service is multidisciplinary with a gynecologist, physiotherapist, psychologist and nutritionist.