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Men can be seen for pelvic floor physical therapy as well as women. Often people think it is only for women after childbirth, but that’s not true. We treat women who have never been pregnant as well as treating men.
Some common issues we work on pelvic floor therapy for men are pelvic pain, chronic prostatitis, after prostate surgery, incontinence (difficulty controlling the bowel or bladder), painful ejaculation and erectile dysfunction.
Although it is more common for women to have pelvic floor dysfunction due to their anatomy, men can have pelvic floor dysfunction as well. Often physical therapy helps tremendously for these conditions.
We are trained to work with male anatomy in the pelvic region. The muscles are very similar to female pelvic anatomy. In males the bladder sits on top of the prostate whereas in females the uterus sits on top of the bladder, which is why females have more incontinence issues than males in the general population.
After prostate surgery it is common for men to have urinary incontinence. This is due in part from the surgery itself and the trauma to the pelvic region. It is also in part because one part of the sphincter that holds the urine in the bladder until it is time to go to the toilet is intertwined with the prostate. When the surgeon removes the prostate, he will try to preserve as much of the bladder sphincter as possible, but there is always some level of disruption and therefore we need to teach the pelvic floor muscles to be stronger to support the bladder now.
It is also common to have erectile dysfunction after prostate removal surgery. This should be addressed medically first with medications to help with blood flow and erections. Physical therapists or the surgeon can guide men with how to use a penile pump to improve erections. There are many options of penis pumps and rings to help with erection that we recommend both to our patients who had prostate surgery and those coming in for erectile dysfunction without it relating to surgery.
We work with chronic prostatitis or pelvic pain similarly to how we work with women with similar conditions. We massage and stretch any muscles in the area that are tight. We work on relaxation techniques like any other muscle in the body that may be tight or injured.
We have been seeing more male patients this year and are happy men are seeking treatment for their pelvic issues.
Please share this with the men in your life who have prostate or pelvic issues.
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