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  1. 1 How does urinary incontinence impact midlife women’s exercise engagement?
  2. 2 There are papers by Gard and Lavallee that address this directly
  3. 3 Why can’t you access these papers? They are in Google Scholar and are open source.

Answered on this page ↓

Why can’t you access these papers? They are in Google Scholar and are open source.

Sep 22, 2026 · 22 sources used · OpenNeedle synthesis
The retrieval system cannot access papers by Gard and Lavallee because they were not returned by the search that produced this evidence block. The search surfaced 30 records, none of which are by those authors or on that exact question.

The evidence here covers pelvic floor exercise treatment studies [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16], menopause symptoms [17, 18, 21], and physical activity interventions [19, 20, 22]. None of these records address how urinary incontinence specifically affects exercise engagement in midlife women. The closest match is a study of 386 young nulliparous women that found high-volume training roughly doubled incontinence risk [11], but that is the opposite causal direction and a different population.

The retrieval simply missed the Gard and Lavallee papers. That is a limitation of this search, not a finding about the literature. Those papers may exist in Google Scholar and be open access; this system just did not find them today.

My call: the evidence block does not contain the papers you asked about, so I cannot summarize or evaluate them. Confidence: not applicable - the retrieval missed the target.

Keep digging

Sources used 22

  1. Pelvic floor muscle exercise for the treatment of female stress urinary incontinence: III. Effects of two different degrees of pelvic floor muscle exercises Neurourology and Urodynamics (1990) Thin

    This study investigates the effects of two different degrees of pelvic floor muscle exercises on women with stress urinary incontinence, revealing that intensive exercise significantly improves urinary continence and muscle strength compared to home exercises.

    DOI: 10.1002/nau.1930090505
  2. Pengaruh Kegel Exercise terhadap Inkontinensia Urine pada Ibu Postpartum Multipara Holistic Nursing and Health Science (2021) Thin

    Kegel exercise reduces urinary incontinence in multiparous postpartum mothers, with experimental group showing significant post-intervention improvement compared to control.

    DOI: 10.14710/hnhs.4.1.2021.26-33
  3. DIFFERENCE URINARY INCONTINENCE BEFORE AND AFTER CONDUCTED MASSAGE, KEGEL EXERCISE IN ELDERLY PATIENTS AT PUBLIC HOSPITALS SEMBIRING DELI TUA Jurnal Penelitian Keperawatan Medik (2018) primary study Strong

    Massage and Kegel exercise were associated with reduced urinary incontinence scores in 15 elderly inpatients (mean 3.87 to 2.47; p=0.000), but the one-group pretest-posttest design limits causal inference.

    DOI: 10.36656/jpkm.v1i1.90
  4. Effect of pelvic muscle exercise on transient incontinence during pregnancy and after birth*1 Obstetrics & Gynecology (1998) Thin

    This study investigates the impact of pelvic muscle exercise on reducing urinary incontinence symptoms and improving pelvic muscle strength in primigravidas during pregnancy and up to 12 months postpartum.

    DOI: 10.1016/s0029-7844(97)00672-8
  5. Kegel Exercises On Urinary Incontinence Jurnal Ilmu Kesehatan dan Gizi (2023) Thin

    Pelvic floor muscle training via Kegel exercises improved urinary continence in adult women, with more participants achieving normal or mild incontinence after the program in two quasi-experimental groups.

    DOI: 10.55606/jikg.v1i1.877
  6. Comparison of Kegel Exercises and Stabilization Exercises for Urinary Incontinence in Postpartum Females Pakistan Journal of Health Sciences (2022) Thin

    A quasi-experimental study in postpartum Pakistani women with stress urinary incontinence found stabilization exercises to be more effective than Kegel exercises over 4 weeks, though both approaches produced significant improvements.

    DOI: 10.54393/pjhs.v3i04.144
  7. Effect of Practicing Deep Breathing and Kegel Exercises on Menopausal Urinary Incontinence at Beni-Suef Public Health Open Access (2024) Thin

    In a quasi-experimental study at Benha University-affiliated clinics in Egypt, 100 menopausal women with stress urinary incontinence underwent three months of deep breathing plus Kegel exercises, leading to improved urinary symptoms, higher pelvic floor muscle control, and susta…

    DOI: 10.23880/phoa-16000272
  8. Comparison of the Effectiveness of Pelvic Floor Muscle Exercises versus Pilates Exercises on Urinary Incontinence in Middle Aged Women”. Randomized Controlled Trial. RCT Pakistan BioMedical Journal (2022) Thin

    In this small Pakistani clinical study, pelvic floor muscle exercises outperformed a Pilates program in reducing stress urinary incontinence in women over a 6-week period, as measured by pelvic floor disability index scores.

    DOI: 10.54393/pbmj.v5i7.653
  9. Pelvic floor muscle exercises in genuine urinary stress incontinence International Urogynecology Journal (1997) Thin

    This study evaluates the effectiveness of pelvic floor muscle exercises in treating genuine urinary stress incontinence, reporting a significant improvement in symptoms for a substantial portion of participants.

    DOI: 10.1007/bf02765489
  10. Pelvic floor rehabilitation before radical prostatectomy: a systematic review BMC Urology (2025) Thin

    A systematic review of pelvic floor prehabilitation before radical prostatectomy in adult men, finding that structured, especially intensive pelvic floor and multimodal exercise programs may improve urinary continence and quality of life, but evidence is heterogeneous and standa…

    DOI: 10.1186/s12894-025-01932-2
  11. Urinary Incontinence and Levels of Regular Physical Exercise in Young Women International Journal of Sports Medicine (2015) Thin

    This study investigates the relationship between levels of regular physical exercise and the prevalence of urinary incontinence among young nulliparous women in Northern Portugal, finding that high-volume competitive training is associated with increased risk of incontinence.

    DOI: 10.1055/s-0034-1398625
  12. The effect of pelvic floor exercises in the treatment of genuine urinary stress incontinence in women at two hospitals BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology (1988) Thin

    This study evaluates the effectiveness of pelvic floor exercises in treating genuine urinary stress incontinence in women across two hospitals, finding that 67% of patients achieved significant improvement or complete continence after three months of treatment.

    DOI: 10.1111/j.1471-0528.1988.tb09491.x
  13. POSTPARTUM STRESS; The Professional Medical Journal (2013) Thin

    This study investigates the effects of pelvic floor muscle training, specifically Kegel exercises, on postpartum urinary incontinence, demonstrating significant improvements in urinary control among participants.

    DOI: 10.29309/tpmj/2013.20.02.684
  14. Differences in motor learning of pelvic floor muscle contraction between women with and without stress urinary incontinence: Evaluation by transabdominal ultrasonography Neurourology and Urodynamics (2015) Thin

    TAUS-guided pelvic floor muscle training shows slower associative-stage learning of PFM contraction in postpartum women with stress urinary incontinence compared with those without, despite similar improvements in levator hiatus morphology.

    DOI: 10.1002/nau.22867
  15. Pelvic Floor Health and Urinary Incontinence in Female Soccer Players: A Comparative Analysis Between Professionals and Physically Active Women: A Cross-Sectional Descriptive Protocol Diagnostics (2025) Thin

    This cross-sectional descriptive protocol compares urinary incontinence prevalence and pelvic floor function between professional female soccer players and physically active young women, highlighting notable UI prevalence and limited pelvic floor performance that suggest a need …

    DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics15151881
  16. EFFECT OF PELVIC FLOOR MUSCLE BIOFEEDBACK ON IMPROVED ERECTILE FUNCTION IN PATIENTS WITH LOWER URINARY TRACT SYMPTOMS: PRELIMINARY STUDY Indonesian Journal of Urology (2025) Mixed

    A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials found that physiotherapy interventions, particularly pelvic floor muscle biofeedback and pelvic floor muscle exercises, improved erectile function and related pelvic floor outcomes in men after prostatectomy, …

    DOI: 10.32421/juri.v32i1.901
  17. Sleep difficulty in women at midlife: a community survey of sleep and the menopausal transition * Menopause (2003) Thin

    This study investigates the prevalence of sleep difficulties among middle-aged women during the menopausal transition, revealing significant associations with menopausal status, ethnicity, and various health factors.

    DOI: 10.1097/00042192-200310010-00005
  18. The association of depression status with menopause symptoms among rural midlife women in China African Health Sciences (2016) Thin

    Among rural midlife women in China, the study found a depression prevalence of 11.4% that was not linked to menopausal status, but was strongly associated with sleep disturbances and vasomotor symptoms—sleep problems across all menopausal stages and vasomotor symptoms mainly in …

    DOI: 10.4314/AHS.V16I1.13
  19. Effects of a Physical Activity Intervention for Women Western Journal of Nursing Research (2005) Thin

    This study evaluates the effectiveness of the Heart and Soul Physical Activity Program (HSPAP), a church-based intervention aimed at increasing physical activity, energy expenditure, and cardiorespiratory fitness among midlife women, finding significant improvements in energy ex…

    DOI: 10.1177/0193945904270912
  20. Greater Leisure Time Physical Activity Is Associated with Lower Allostatic Load in White, Black, and Mexican American Midlife Women: Findings from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999 through 2004 Women's Health Issues (2015) Thin

    This study investigates the relationship between leisure time physical activity and allostatic load among White, Black, and Mexican American midlife women, finding that higher physical activity levels are associated with lower allostatic load, independent of demographic factors.

    DOI: 10.1016/j.whi.2015.07.002
  21. The effect of pleasant odors and hormone status on mood of women at midlife Brain Research Bulletin (1995) Thin

    This study tested whether pleasant odors can improve mood in women at midlife and whether mood benefits depend on hormone status, showing that fragrances improved several mood dimensions (tension, depression, confusion) especially among hormone-replacement users, while physiolog…

    DOI: 10.1016/0361-9230(94)00133-l
  22. Testing the comparative effects of physical activity advice by humans vs. computers in underserved populations: The COMPASS trial design, methods, and baseline characteristics Contemporary Clinical Trials (2017) Thin

    COMPASS compares peer-delivered physical activity counseling to a computer-delivered embodied advisor to determine noninferiority in increasing weekly walking among underserved midlife and older Latino adults over 12 months.

    DOI: meta/10.1016/j.cct.2017.07.020

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