Overuse injuries are common among competitive Norwegian rhythmic gymnasts with a mean weekly prevalence of 37% \[95% CI: 36 - 39%\] and incidence of 4.2 new overuse injuries \[95% CI: 3.6 - 4.9\] per gymnast per year (Gram, M., Clarsen, B., \& Bø, K., 2021). The knees, lower back and hip/groin were the most common injury locations. It has been postulated that reduced physical capacity (e.g strength, flexibility, stability) in the knees, lower back and hip/groin can increase the risk of injuries in rhythmic gymnastics. In addition, more than 30% of the Norwegian rhythmic gymnasts experience urinary incontinence (UI), and 70% reported that UI negatively affected sports performance (Gram, M., \& Bø, K., 2020). Few of the rhythmic gymnasts had any knowledge about the pelvic floor. Hence, this assessor blinded cluster randomized controlled trial aims to find out whether the implementation of exercises targeting reduced physical capacity and pelvic floor dysfunction can prevent/reduce the prevalence of overuse injuries and UI.
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Reduction in prevalence of overuse injuries in the knees, lower back and hip/groin
Timeframe: The gymnasts in both groups will answer the OSTRC-H2 at baseline (October 2022) and one time each month throughout the intervention period (last registration in June 2023)
Reduction in prevalence and bother of UI
Timeframe: The gymnasts in both groups will answer the ICIQ-UI-SF one time at baseline (October 2022) and one time when the intervention period has ended (June 2023)