Abstract

CAETANO, Aletha Silva; TAVARES, Maria da Consolação Gomes Cunha Fernandes; LOPES, Maria Helena Baena de Moraes  and  POLONI, Raquel Lebre. Influence of physical activity in the quality of life and self image of incontinent women. Rev Bras Med Esporte [online]. 2009, vol.15, n.2, pp. 93-97. ISSN 1517-8692.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1517-86922009000200002.

Our aim was to verify the influence of a physical activities proposal in the quality of life and self image of incontinent women. This study was comparative and exploratory and was developed in 16 weeks. Thirty-seven women with and without urinary incontinence (IU) participated in the study. After the study, significant improvement in general health perception (p < 0.001), UI impact (p = 0.035), physical limitations (p = 0.015), personal relations, (p = 0.048), sleep and disposition (p = 0.012) and concerned with the gravity measurements (p = 0.011) was observed. Concerning self image, alterations in appearance were not observed; however, concerning body satisfaction, the women felt less satisfied with their bodies (p = 0.007). There was a reduction in the number of regions where they felt pain (p = 0.0003) and that they did not like (p = 0.0017). In conclusion, the Physical Education professionals using a systematized and integrated physical activities program can lead the women with IU to significant improvement in the perception of their quality of life and health concerning their self image with improvement of the IU symptoms and reduction of frequency and amount of urinary loss.

Keywords : urinary incontinence; exercise; quality of life; body image.