Category: Pelvic Floor Dysfunction

Pelvic floor dysfunction is a condition that I often see in men. It’s a condition that is not talked about, but it’s more common than you might think. This can cause a range of unpleasant symptoms, but the good news is that with the right treatment, many men can experience significant relief.

In this blog, we’ll explore pelvic floor dysfunction, the symptoms to look out for, and the most effective treatment options available.

What is Pelvic Floor Muscle Dysfunction?

If you have been experiencing urinary incontinence, chronic pelvic pain, or sexual dysfunction, you might be dealing with a common issue called pelvic floor dysfunction. Pelvic floor problems can affect the muscles, ligaments, and connective tissue in your pelvic area, leading to a range of symptoms that can impact your daily life.

Healthcare professionals diagnose pelvic floor dysfunction by assessing patients’ health history, and symptoms, and conducting physical examinations to evaluate muscle function.

Symptoms of Pelvic Floor Dysfunction

The symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction can vary widely, but some of the most common include:

Urinary Incontinence: The involuntary leakage of urine, often occurring during activities like coughing, sneezing, or physical exertion, and sometimes as a result of an inability to control the urge to urinate.

Chronic Pelvic Pain: Persistent or recurrent pain in the pelvic region lasting six months or more, which can be associated with various conditions affecting the reproductive, urinary, or digestive systems.

Pain During Sexual Intercourse: Also known as dyspareunia, this refers to persistent or recurring pain experienced during or after sexual intercourse, which can result from physical or psychological factors.

Erectile Dysfunction: The inability to achieve or maintain an erection sufficient for satisfactory sexual performance, often due to physical, psychological, or lifestyle factors.

Painful Bowel Movements: Discomfort or pain experienced during the passage of stool, which can be caused by conditions like hemorrhoids, anal fissures, or pelvic floor dysfunction.

Constipation: A condition characterized by infrequent or difficult bowel movements, often accompanied by a feeling of incomplete evacuation, and can be caused by diet, dehydration, or underlying health issues.

Fecal Incontinence: The inability to control bowel movements, leading to involuntary leakage of stool, which can result from weakened pelvic floor muscles, nerve damage, or gastrointestinal disorders.

The anal sphincter plays a critical role in the process of defecation, and its proper functioning is essential for effective stool evacuation. Issues with the anal sphincter can lead to conditions like fecal incontinence.

Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy Treatment Options

If you’re finding yourself dealing with symptoms of pelvic floor issues, don’t worry. These symptoms can be tough to handle, but there are ways to manage them. As a physical therapist, I have helped many men overcome the discomfort and inconvenience that comes with this issue.

At Pelvis NYC, we take a personalized approach to treatment, recognizing that each patient’s situation is unique. We also offer a variety of effective treatment options to help you regain control and confidence. Here are some of the ways we can help:

• Pelvic floor muscle strengthening exercises: Pelvic floor exercises use to help you improve the strength and endurance of your pelvic floor muscles. Furthermore, it can help improve bladder and bowel control, reduce pelvic pain, and enhance sexual function.
• Pelvic floor physical therapy: This specialized form of therapy can improve muscle contraction and rectal sensation, aiding in the management of conditions like rectocele and anismus.
• Biofeedback therapy: This technique uses specialized sensors to help you visualize and understand your body’s responses to certain exercises, making it easier to train your pelvic floor muscles effectively.
• Manual therapy techniques: We use gentle manual techniques to help release tension and tightness in the pelvic floor muscles and then, reduce pain and promote healing.
• Electrical stimulation: This therapy uses low-voltage electrical currents. This stimulates the pelvic floor muscles, helping them to contract and relax more effectively.
• Relaxation techniques: Stress and tension can exacerbate symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction. We offer relaxation techniques such as deep breathing and mindfulness to help you reduce stress and improve your overall well-being.

Conclusion:

If you’re experiencing symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction, know that there are effective treatment options available. Strong pelvic muscles are essential for maintaining pelvic health and preventing conditions like pelvic organ prolapse and incontinence. Understanding pelvic floor disorders is crucial, as they can significantly impact quality of life. Don’t suffer alone – reach out to a qualified physical therapist today to get the help you need to feel your best.

If you have more questions, feel free to visit www.pelvis.nyc and get a FREE 15-minute teleconsultation. Our team is here to help you find relief and get back to doing the things you love.

Most of the time, it is hard to seek treatment from a variety of doctors for men with pelvic floor dysfunction. But, unfortunately, even if they go from one specialist to another the results come back as normal.

In turn, they are naturally looking for information on the internet but the internet searches are mostly for me. That is why it is also difficult to find someone with experience treating men with pelvic health issues, so finding someone who can help is quite challenging.

However, know that you are not alone and some physical therapists can help you. Physical therapists use pelvic floor exercises as part of treatment for pelvic floor dysfunction since they help strengthen the pelvic floor. So you do not have to suffer from your symptoms for the rest of your life!

A Brief Overview of the Pelvic Floor

A pelvic floor is a group of muscles that reside in your pelvis. A man’s pelvic floor muscles support his bladder and bowel. The openings from these organs pass through the pelvic floor. The pelvic floor muscles wrap tightly around these openings to keep them closed.

The pelvic floor muscles can be stretched, weakened, or too tight. If you are unable to relax and coordinate these muscles, this causes pelvic floor dysfunction. A man with pelvic floor dysfunction may have weak or especially tight pelvic floor muscles, making urinating or bowel movements difficult as well as problems having or keeping an erection.

However, do not fret because pelvic floor physical therapy is proven to be beneficial for the treatment of pelvic floor dysfunction in men.

Symptoms and Causes of Pelvic Floor Dysfunction

A weak pelvic floor causes different symptoms. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, you have a problem with your pelvic floor muscles. Among the conditions that have been linked to weak pelvic floor muscles are:

• Pelvic pain, genital pain, or rectum pain
• bowel discomfort or constipation
• Urinary problems, such as the urge to urinate or painful urination
• low back pain
• characterized by pressure or swelling in the pelvic region
• Erectile dysfunction
• Painful or premature ejaculation
• as well as spasms in the pelvis

Tho it’s scary to have these symptoms, treatment for pelvic floor dysfunction includes strengthening your pelvic floor through pelvic floor dysfunction.

While causes are still unknown, a few of the known factors include:

• Obesity.
• Getting older
• Those people involved in car accidents suffer trauma to their pelvic area
• Excessive pelvic muscle use (going to the bathroom too often, pushing too hard) eventually results in poor muscle coordination.
• Surgical procedures for the pelvis.

The Diagnosis

Pelvis NYC puts your comfort first for the initial consultation before asking about your symptoms or medical history because we know that when you are comfortable, you can disclose everything to us. 

After the initial consultation, you may be required to undergo a physical examination to check for muscle spasms or knots as well as assess your muscle weakness.

In some cases, we may also require you to run some tests for further verification.

The Treatment

Pelvic floor physical therapy uses pelvic floor exercises to address pelvic floor problems. Exercises in this specialized therapy help you manage pain, discomfort, and disturbances to your quality of life.

The goal of pelvic floor physical therapy is to strengthen and relax the pelvic floor muscles to improve core stability, and control over urination, bowel movements, and sexual function. It uses a variety of different techniques to increase pelvic floor muscle control, improve awareness of contraction and relaxation patterns, and decrease symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction, including pain, disability, and symptoms of incontinence.

Why Choose Us?

A doctor who specializes in pelvic floor dysfunction should be your number one consideration. He should be knowledgeable about techniques that have been proven to be successful in the treatment of pelvic floor dysfunction.

Our expert at Pelvis NYC has been through pelvic floor dysfunction, which is why he understands what you are going through and is dedicated to treating your symptoms. He knows how difficult it is to live without knowing what is going on with your body.

We at Pelvis NYC ensure that you receive expert care, a comprehensive understanding, and a comfortable treatment environment for all patients.

Please visit Pelvis NYC to avail of the FREE 15-minute teleconsultation.

WEAK PELVIC FLOOR is synonymous with a TIGHT PELVIC FLOOR. These words are common terms in the world of pelvic health but are usually misunderstood. To give everyone clarity, a weakened pelvic floor is a state of the pelvic floor muscles where your pelvic organs lack the support it needs to function normally. That may stop you from being able to control urine, feces, or gas. 

Symptoms of a WEAK/TIGHT PELVIC FLOOR MUSCLES

• Leaking urine or flow of urine when coughing or sneezing
• Passing wind/gas when bending or lifting
• Reduced sensation in the sexual organ
• Unable to control bowel movements or passing the stool
• Pain in the tailbone (coccyx pain)
• Sudden urge to pee (urinary urgency)
• Unable to poop (constipation)
• Painful sex (dyspareunia)

WHAT ARE THE COMMON CAUSES OF WEAK PELVIC FLOOR IN MEN?

Men’s pelvic floor can be weakened by:

• Obesity (as defined by the World Health Organization, obesity is the abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health.)
• Type-A Personality ( People with Type A personalities are often high-achieving “workaholics” )
• Chronic constipation (Constipation that lasts for several months)
• Post-Op Prostate Recovery (People who underwent prostatectomy which is a surgery that removes part or all of the prostate gland)
• Straining to urinate or defecate (An intense exertion to pass the urine or stool)
• Minimal Ejaculation (Ejaculating little to no semen)

WHAT ARE THE COMPLICATIONS OF WEAK PELVIC FLOOR?

Have you tried riding a roller coaster and felt like your internal organs are shuffled? And it felt like there is a strong gravitational force pulling you down there? It may be a little exaggerated, but one of the major complications of a weak pelvic floor is PROLAPSE. Prolapse is the bulging or dropping of your rectum or bladder. It is more common in females but may occur in men as well.

Symptoms of PROLAPSE:

• Pressure in the pelvic region
• A feeling that something is falling out
• Protrusion of the rectum or anus
• Trapped stool or difficult bowel movements
• Urine leakage and difficulty in urinating
• Lower back pain

HOW TO REDUCE SYMPTOMS OF PELVIC FLOOR WEAKNESS?

If your pelvic floor muscles are weak, there are lifestyle changes and pelvic floor muscle training that can reduce the symptoms of pelvic floor weakness. It may include the following:

• Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy –  Pelvic floor exercise (especially integrated with a strong core) can help with the symptoms of a weak or tightened pelvic floor. Your pelvic floor therapist can help strengthen the muscles of your pelvic floor and core. 
• High-fiber diet
• Water intake
• Weight loss
• Exercise/Movement
• Yoga

WHERE TO GET HELP?

Having a weakened pelvic floor is not a medical emergency, but it is EMBARRASSING and UNCOMFORTABLE. Pelvis NYC is on a mission to help men get proper treatment and proper care. If any of the above signs and symptoms are bothering you, please consult your specialist. Or you can book a 15-minute teleconsultation totally FREE OF CHARGE. We are here to listen. We are here to help.

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