Do Men Have Pelvic Floor Muscles?

Jun 20, 2019

Surprisingly for some men, the answer is YES men do have pelvic floor muscles.

Where are Male Pelvic Floor Muscles?

Your pelvic floor muscles lie inside the pelvic bones.


The deeper layer of muscle sits directly underneath the prostate and help maintain your urinary continence.


The more superficial layer can be felt at the base if your testes and it helps to maintain an erection and pushes out the last few drops of urine in the tube.



What does my pelvic floor muscles do?

Stop you from leaking urine or stool - Helps with urine leakage by closing the urine tube (urethra), 20cm long. Stops stool leaking by helping the anal canal to maintain good closure pressures.


Maintain normal sexual function - Your pelvic floor muscles help to hold the blood in the inflatable sinuses on either side of the penis this helps maintain an erection. Additionally, if the pelvic floor muscles are too tight intimacy can cause pain sometimes within the testes or on the head of the penis and sometimes pain can be felt in the lower abdomen.



How do I activate my pelvic floor muscles?

Below are a few cues to help you activate your pelvic floor muscles:


Back Passage

  • Function: Control stools, wind
  • Action: Imagine you are holding wind in or squeeze around your back passage or anal sphincter and lift up and in


Middle section

  • Function: Helps remove last few drops of urine and helps maintain blood in the erect penis
  • Action: Lift your testes towards your stomach. Imagine you are walking into a cold ocean


Front Section

  • Function: Control of urine
  • Action: Imagine you are holding on to a full bladder, or

Imagine you are retracting the base of your penis, or

Imagine your penis is like a telescope that can fold back inside itself, or

Imagine your penis is like the head of a turtle pulling back inside the shell



How many should I be able to do?

3 sets of 10 repetitions of 10 seconds holds in standing.



How often?

Daily or bring them in when you lift.


In this way, you are doing them functionally throughout every day.





If you feel your pelvic floor muscles may not be performing as they should, seek some help from our physiotherapists to regain that control.



More from the blog

By Kylie Conway 26 Dec, 2023
Jaw, jumping and jellyfish all start with the letter J and are all related to pelvic health. How can we help?
By Kylie Conway 18 Dec, 2023
There are so many wonderful elements experienced during pregnancy and we do our best to be healthy throughout. We remember to take our prenatal vitamins to ensure our body and bub are getting enough of what's needed. We stay clear of certain foods to avoid infections. We keep our body active by exercising but we don't always remember to care for our pelvic floor. During pregnancy, muscles of your pelvic floor are stretched and weaken. These muscles help to control your bladder. When your pelvic floor muscles are weak, they can't always stop your bladder from leaking. This leaking happens mostly when you cough, laugh, sneeze, lift or exercise. You may also find holding in a wee difficult, like when putting a key in the front door, suddenly the urge is greater. By performing pelvic floor exercises, you can strengthen the muscles. Pelvic floor muscle training will assist the body to cope with the growing weight of the baby. Stronger muscles before bub is born will help to reduce or avoid stress incontinence after pregnancy. It's never too early to start doing pelvic floor exercises, but the earlier and more regularly you practice them throughout pregnancy, the greater the benefits. If you're unsure if you're performing pelvic floor exercises correctly or would like some guidance, we can help!
By Kylie Conway 11 Dec, 2023
Incontinence, intimacy pain and initial appointment all start with the letter I and are all related to pelvic health. How can we help?
By Kylie Conway 05 Dec, 2023
How can I prevent getting an UTI after sex?
Share by: