What happens if conservative rehabilitation has been completed and an athlete still has symptoms of Pelvic Floor Dysfunction?

Like any area of rehabilitation, conservative measures may not fully resolve all symptoms. For Pelvic Floor Dysfunction domains such as urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse, there may be surgical or next-step interventions available; however, these are not always suited to the female athlete and the demands they have. For example, surgical options will undoubtedly require time loss from sport. Recovery and return to sport will need to be carefully managed to ensure the integrity of a surgical repair and it may limit or reduce the achievable performance.

Sports medicine teams should be aware that there are other adjunctive options to help support pelvic floor function in female athletes. Similar to how sports injuries around the body may benefit of taping or braces, for the pelvic floor vaginal pessaries, urethral support devices and compression garments are all available options depending on individual presentation and preference (Giagio and Donnelly, 2025). 

These offer options to manage an athlete’s symptoms so that they do not impact or limit their training and performance.

Coaching Tips:

• Create a safe environment for athletes to discuss pelvic health.
• Use quick tools such as the PFD-SENTINEL before training to screen for symptoms.