Mélanie Le Berre
PhD student in Rehabilitation Sciences
Research Centre of the Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal
Award-winning publication: Characteristics of Lower Limb Muscle Strength, Balance, Mobility, and Function in Older Women with Urge and Mixed Urinary Incontinence: An Observational Pilot Study
Published in: Physiotherapy Canada
Abstract
One out of two women over the age of 65 suffers from urinary incontinence (UI) and, of them, 25% experience severe symptoms (>10 episodes/week). In addition, it has been found that women with urge UI (UUI) and mixed UI (MUI) are at greater risk of falling. Even so, little is known about the characteristics of lower limb muscle strength, balance, mobility and function in older women with UUI/MUI that could explain the correlation. The study led by Mélanie Le Berre therefore compared these characteristics in a group of 20 women over the age of 65 who experience UUI/MUI and a group of continent women of the same age. Her findings suggest that older women with UUI/MUI may suffer from balance and mobility impairments, while no differences were observed between the groups in terms of muscle strength or function. Preventive interventions to strengthen balance and increase gait speed in women with UUI/MUI could therefore prove beneficial. Further studies are required to confirm these results.