The aim of this study was to compare the condition of the pelvic floor in women who are involved in regular recreational horseback riding, with both physically active women as well as women not undertaking any recreational physical activity. Taking into account horseback riding and physical activity, 140 healthy women aged 17 to 61 were divided into three groups: women practicing horseback riding (WPHR) (46 persons), physically active women (PAW) (47 persons) and women not physically active (WNPA) (47 persons). The Australian Pelvic Floor Questionnaire (APFQ) was used to measure the extent of pelvic floor dysfunctions in women from all three groups. The lowest average values were found in the group of women practicing recreational horseback riding, and the highest in the group of women not physically active (95% CI: 0.61-1.15 vs. 0.87-1.44 -bladder scores; 0.82-1.32 vs. 1.24-1.8-bowel scores; 0.07-0.33 vs. 0.08-0.35-prolapse of reproductive organs scores; 0.4-1.07 vs. 0.49-1.3-sexual function). Statistically significant intergroup differences were recorded only for the bowel function rate (p = 0.021). The overall pelvic floor dysfunction rate in the WPHR group was lower when compared with both control groups (95% CI: 2.15-3.62 vs. 2.34-3.54 in women from PAW group and vs. 3.0-4.56 in women from WNPA group). Based on this study, it can be concluded that all of the pelvic floor related symptoms, their frequency, and severity levels do not qualify recreational horseback riding as being a risk factor for developing pelvic floor dysfunction in women.
Keywords: bladder function; bowel function; horseback riding; pelvic floor; prolapse symptoms; sexual function; women.