Important Survey Information:

The purpose of this research is to assess the impact of an eight-week home cadence training program on stress urinary incontinence symptoms in parous women. The study is designed to determine whether a low-cost, fully remote, wearable-guided modification of running cadence can reduce SUI symptoms in parous runners.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Healthy
• Nonpregnant
• Female volunteers
• Self-reported urinary incontinence during running with history of at least one prior delivery after 32 weeks gestation and who run 6 miles/week with a preferred cadence of less than or equal to 170 steps per minute determined via personal report from current Garmin watch data.
• Participants must own their own or have access to a Garmin watch.
• Participants must read, speak, and understand English sufficiently to provide informed consent and complete study procedures and questionnaires.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Unwillingness to complete all components of the study
• Urge only urinary incontinence
• Less than 3 months postpartum or current pregnancy
• History of prolapse repair or incontinence surgery
• Participants will also be excluded if they do not own or utilize a Garmin watch that provides cadence assessment and alarm.

Following informed consent and completion of baseline study measures, participants will complete a home running-cadence assessment using their Garmin device. Participants will receive standardized written instructions through an electronic link, with verbal or technical assistance available from the research team as needed. Investigators will compare a cadence-increase intervention with a cadence-maintenance control condition. Both groups will complete 8 weeks of their typical at-home running program.

This study will be conducted entirely remotely, and no in-person study visits will be required. Participants assigned to the cadence-increase group will be instructed to continue their previously planned running program while increasing their running cadence by approximately 10% above their baseline cadence. Their Garmin watch will be programmed to provide an alert when cadence falls below or above the individualized target. Participants assigned to the cadence-maintenance control group will also continue their previously planned running program. Their Garmin watch will be programmed with cadence alerts intended to support maintenance of their baseline average cadence. The active intervention period will last eight weeks. Study measures will be collected at baseline, immediately following the eight-week intervention, and at six months. Electronic questionnaires will be used to assess urinary incontinence symptoms and other relevant pelvic-floor symptoms.

Survey Link:

https://redcap2.mayo.edu/redcap/surveys/?s=TAP3K9HWK8CHX44W

Time to Complete:

5 minutes

Eligibility:

See inclusion criteria above.

Survey Deadline:

November 30, 2026

Survey Contact for Inquiries:

Sally Olmstead, PT, DPT, olmstead.sally@mayo.edu