Does Running Harm Women’s Health In Their Relationships?

Furthermore, it is an activity that does not require specific equipment or facilities. This makes it an easily accessible sporting option as it presents practically no logistical, social, or economic barriers.

Could it have any negative consequences?

Despite all this, running regularly also increases the incidence of musculoskeletal injuries. In addition, and the specific case of women, the high rate of repetition of the sporting gesture, combined with the physical impact of running, increases the incidence of perineal disorders. Specifically, disorders such as urinary and/or fecal incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse.

Activities such as running or heavy lifting increase intra-abdominal pressure (also known as IAP). Elevated IAPs push down on the perineal muscles, weakening them over time.

However, high-impact and weight-lifting activities have also been identified to elicit a positive training effect on the supporting structures of the pelvic floor in response to activity-induced increases in IAP.

The current trend is to keep in mind that any activity that raises the IAP in a high or moderate but repetitive manner should be performed once the integrity of all the pelvic-perineal structures has been verified. This condition cannot be assumed in women who have carried out pregnancies beyond the first trimester, women with chronic musculoskeletal disorders in the trunk and/or legs, or perimenopausal women.

Given the physical changes that occur in the situations mentioned above, rehabilitation and conditioning are often necessary for women who wish to start running or return to it. Specialized gynecological and physiotherapy examinations should be performed to check pelvic-perineal integrity.

After verifying pelvic-perineal integrity, it is necessary to accompany the desired sporting practice with adequate teaching of the sporting gesture and with a training plan for the perineal muscles. In this way, we avoid unnecessarily high increases in IAP.

Sexuality and running

The relationship between running and female sexual function has received much less attention than the effects of exercise on incontinence and prolapse.

Physiology supports that many of the mechanisms involved in physical exercise also participate in the activation of sexual desire. Consequently, exercise should be considered a very attractive form of treatment for sexual problems, since it does not carry the stigma that is usually associated with sex therapy and pharmacotherapy. In other words, it avoids the discomfort, embarrassment, or fear of being judged in the consultation that many women feel.

Female sexual dysfunctions have a biopsychosocial origin. This means that they can be caused by organic, psychological, and social factors. In addition, they are influenced by educational, socioeconomic, religious, and relationship aspects. This means that identifying a specific origin in each patient is often impossible.

Dyspareunia, or the appearance of pain during or after intercourse, is one of the most common dysfunctions. Furthermore, it is extremely difficult to identify its origin. This is because it can be caused by inflammatory, infectious, neoplastic, traumatic, hormonal, structural, and psychosocial disorders.

Of all of them, the last two are the most common. The most frequently associated psychosocial alterations are psychological stress factors, negative social conditions, and alterations in the sexual response cycle at the hormonal and cerebral levels.

On the other hand, among the most frequent structural conditions are pelvic organ prolapse and weakness or contracture of the perineal muscles.

Since these alterations can be a consequence of poor running practice, some people assume that running can cause sexual dysfunction. However, this association has not been scientifically proven and the benefits of running (in the presence of the integrity of the pelvic-perineal structures) always outweigh its possible negative effects.

What to do once sexual dysfunction has occurred?

Treating sexual dysfunctions does not guarantee their complete resolution. But it does help improve the quality of life of patients.

One of the most recommended approaches is multidisciplinary treatment. These address the problem by including physical, emotional, and behavioral aspects with the coordinated participation of gynecologists, physiotherapists, sexual therapists, and psychologists or psychiatrists.

Sexological physiotherapy involves treating patients individually with manual therapy techniques and pelvic-perineal muscle massage. These techniques are complemented with education on the necessary behavioral changes, and adaptation and correction on appropriate sports techniques and habits.

With information from Raquel Leirós Rodríguez, Assistant Professor Doctor in Physiotherapy, University of León.