Since the WRU’s women’s programme become full-time at the start of the year, a number of initiatives have been launched to improve women’s health within the performance game in Wales. These include pelvic floor training and menstrual cycle education with support from menstruation underwear brand WUKA and ELVIE who have provided pelvic floor trainers for Wales’ international squad [CLICK HERE to read more].
But there is a strong desire to further improve the level of support for female players and working in conjunction with Cardiff Met, Scottish Rugby, Irish Rugby and England Rugby, it is hoped the research will help medical professionals, support staff and the wider public understand more about Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI) and the impact of rugby activities on pelvic floor function in order to better support players – and ultimately improve performance.
WRU women’s head physio Jo Perkins, who has led the introduction of the women’s health initiatives within the women’s performance pathway in Wales said, “Understanding more about Stress Urinary Incontinence and the types of activities that can contribute towards this will help us to inform clinical practice and policies to better support players throughout the UK and Ireland.
“We are keen to reach as many female rugby players over the age of 18 as possible in this research, at all levels of the game.”
The study will be the first to compare general SUI to rugby-specific SUI whilst also examining the impact of this on rugby participation and performance.
If you play senior women’s rugby at any level in Wales, England, Scotland or Ireland, please CLICK HERE to complete the short survey.
