How Pelvic PT can Help Men with Pelvic Floor Dysfunction

Did you know?

Chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS) has a prevalence between 2% and 16% worldwide, and is the most common urology disease in men 50 years old and younger. If you are experiencing CPPS, you are not alone!

So often men that come to our clinic have seen multiple medical doctors, including their primary care doctor, and one to several urologists, with no improvement in their symptoms. Unfortunately, the medical community is still not well versed in pelvic floor dysfunction and chronic pelvic pain for men, which can leave patients feeling hopeless and alone.

The good news is that there IS help, and at Awake Pelvic Health & Wellness we love helping men heal from chronic pelvic pain. Pelvic floor physical therapy, including manual therapy techniques, muscle relaxation and mindfulness training, stretching and flexibility exercise, aerobic activity, and changing your outlook/mindset around pain has been proven to be be effective in reducing pain and improving sexual function in men.

Pelvic Floor Dysfunction and Male Pelvic Pain 

Symptom you may experience include: 

• Pain in the lower back, abdominal, and pelvic area, including the groin, penis, perineum, scrotum/testicles, or rectum

• Pain with sitting, restricted clothing, or certain exercises

• Dysuria (pain or burning with urination)

• Increased urgency/frequency of urination

• Urinary hesitancy (difficulty initiating urine stream)

• Urinary intermittency (starting/stopping while urinating)

• Urinary retention (incomplete urination)

• Nocturia (frequent nighttime urination)

• Pain or burning during or after ejaculation

• Premature ejaculation

• Erectile dysfunction, specifically pain or difficulty with gaining and maintaining erections along with weaker erectile strength

• Decreased libido

You may have been diagnosed with the following from your doctor:

• Chronic pelvic pain syndrome

• Chronic nonbacterial prostatitis

• Interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome

• Pudendal neuralgia

• Hard flaccid syndrome

• Erectile dysfunction

What causes these symptoms?

• Surgical trauma, including: Hernia repairs, vasectomy, prostatectomy

• Over Exercising at the gym or biking for prolonged periods of time

• Sexually transmitted diseases

• Pelvic floor dysfunction and tight pelvic floor muscles

• Emotional stress, anxiety, or depression

In some cases, men may have seen their urologist regarding these symptoms, and have gone through a battery diagnostic of tests, inducing: urinalyses, urine cultures, imaging, cystoscopy, or urodynamics testing. Often times these tests come back as “negative” and men are told that their prostate is normal after a manual examination. Sometimes men are sent home with multiple rounds of antibiotics or told that their is nothing else the doctor can do for them. So what to do now?

How Pelvic PT can help:

Pelvic floor physical therapy involves therapies and treatments that help reduce pain, tension, and dysfunction in the muscles of the hips, pelvic floor, and low back. Usually men that have the symptoms listed above have some issues with their pelvic floor muscles. If these muscles are tight and unhappy, they can create any number of those symptoms. During your first pelvic floor PT visit, we take as much time as you need to talk through your story (when your symptoms started, how they are now, what you believe are contributing factors, etc). Then we will dive into education about the pelvic floor anatomy and how these muscles can be driving your symptoms. We also talk through any other contributing factors such as stress, anxiety, diet, sleep, lack of exercise, etc.

From there we go into a hands-on manual exam to get a better understanding of how your muscles, joints, and tissues move and feel. This could include an internal pelvic floor muscle exam or not (we always explain this to you prior and obtain consent). After the exam, we discuss a plan or roadmap to help you move towards healing and symptom reduction. This could include home exercises, mindfulness strategies, hands-on manual therapy treatments, mindset and self-talk exercises, etc.

No two men are the same when it comes to how long and how frequent they need to do physical therapy. We discuss with you during your first visit about our recommendations for PT and the best plan for getting started.

If you or someone you know could possibly benefit from pelvic PT or if you have any questions at all, contact us here and we will get back to promptly.

Want to learn more? Click the button below to download a FREE handout that goes into more detail about men’s health PT, chronic pelvic pain, and the roadmap we use to help you.