Men can experience pain and discomfort associated with sexual intercourse. Pain is most commonly experienced with ejaculation, upon erection or penetration. Sexual pain is commonly associated with chronic pelvic pain.
Solution: individualised program, which may include; pelvic floor muscle relaxation exercises, whole body relaxation and trigger point therapy.
Men can experience stress/exertion incontinence with age and following surgery to the prostate. Stress incontinence is urine loss when there is exertion or an increase in pressure in the abdomen e.g. when running, sneezing or coughing.
Solution: Supervised and structured pelvic floor muscle training program.
Urine urgency is the need to suddenly rush to the toilet as the bladder is filling. This can be the result of bladder spasms, a reduced capacity of the bladder, or with certain triggers. Triggers can include; coffee, fizzy drinks, alcohol, artificial sugars, running water, on route to the toilet or with key in the door.
Solution: Bladder re-training and medical assistance
Occurs when there is weakness in your pelvic floor muscles and changes in your stool consistency.
Pelvic floor muscle dyssynergia is the condition where the external anal sphincter and the puborectalis muscle of the pelvic floor muscles contract rather than relaxes during an attempted bowel movement.
Common symptoms include: incomplete emptying of rectum after defecating, sensation of pushing against a blockage, fecal loading or impaction and soiling of liquid feaces.
Your pelvic floor muscles lie inside the pelvis. The deeper layer of muscle sits directly underneath the prostate and helps maintain your urinary continence.
The more superficial layer you can feel at the base of your testes and it helps with maintaining an erection and pushing out the last few drops in the urine tube.
Try to feel for this muscle now – use your index and middle finger and place them at the base of your testes and imagine trying to:
1. Squeeze those last few drops of urine out
2. Lift the base of the penis or
3. Lift your testes to your stomach – you should feel the muscle tightening
1. Stop you from leaking urine, stool or wind
Holds urine in by closing the urine tube (urethra), holds stool or wind in
2. Maintain normal sexual function
Your pelvic floor muscles help pump blood into the erectile tissue of the penis then they help by holding the blood in the inflatable sinuses on either side of the penis. So optimizing pelvic floor function can assist with both the strength of the erection and maintaining it strong.
Below are a few cues to help you activate the different parts of your pelvic floor muscles:
Back passage: Helps hold in wind and controls stool. Imagine you are holding wind in or squeeze around your back passage pull up and in
Middle passage: Helps remove the last few drops of urine in the 20cm long tube and strengthens the muscles that may prevent blood leakage from an erect penis. Imagine you are lifting your testes towards your stomach
Front part: Controls emptying of the bladder and stops leakage. Imagine you are holding urine in or retracting the base of your penis inside your stomach or Imagine your penis is like a telescope that can fold back inside itself.
3 sets of 10 repetitions of 10 second holds in standing
Build up slowly and be patient like any muscle training it is progressive
Daily or train yourself to turn them on whenever you lift –
In this way you are doing them functionally throughout every day.
For men there is negligible risk to the pelvic floor muscles whilst exercising however maintaining cardiovascular health is your greatest protector for optimal sexual health, prostate health and mental health.
Less common in men and may lead to bladder or bowel leakage, inability to hold wind or decreased erectile rigidity (tumescence).
Possible Signs and symptoms of an overactive pelvic floor:
Pelvic Health Melbourne can assist you to normalize your pelvic floor muscle function aiding you to achieve better pelvic health.
Erectile dysfunction is the inability to maintain or achieve an erection that allows sexual activity and penetration.
Common causes of erectile dysfunction include: prostate surgery, pelvic floor muscle weakness, vascular disease and hypertension, cigarette smoking and psychological factors.
Solution: a supervised pelvic floor muscle training program, vacuum assisted devices, erectile rehab program specific for your individual requirements.
Men can experience pain and discomfort associated with sexual intercourse. Pain is most commonly experienced with ejaculation, upon erection or penetration. Sexual pain is commonly associated with chronic pelvic pain.
Solution: individualised program, which may include; pelvic floor muscle relaxation exercises, whole body relaxation and trigger point therapy.
Male pelvic pain is any pain or discomfort in the pelvis, perineum, anus, testes, scrotum or penis. The pain can be made worse with sitting, with a full bladder, with intercourse or on ejaculation.
Some of the causes of chronic pelvic pain in males include; spasms or tense pelvic floor muscles, irritation or compression of a nerve, infection of the prostate or bladder or injury/trauma to the pelvis.
Solution: individualised program, which may include; pelvic floor muscle relaxation exercises, whole body relaxation and trigger point therapy.
Peyronies disease occurs when scar from a trauma has not been reabsorbed into the circulatory system but sits in the erectile tissue and hardens over time. It can occur more commonly if there is a familial history of connective tissue disorders, this hardening is called a plaque. The thickened tissue can develop as a result of trauma during intimacy, during life or develop over time without incident.
If the thickened tissue progresses it can result in curvature of the penis which may contribute to painful intimacy or difficulty maintaining an erection.
Solution:
Therapeutic Ultrasound is showing promising evidence as an effective conservative treatment to reduce the size and progression of these plaques.
At Pelvic Health Melbourne we use therapeuic Ultrasound which directs the sound waves through the area of thickened tissue to commence reducing the plaque size and thickeness. We Ultrasound the area for 10 minutes 2-3 times a week over 4 weeks and track changes to the plaque area.
The patient will then use Vit E oil to massage into the plaque area on the day of treatment and the day after to help maintain the softened tissue and help remove the tissue that has broken down.
Call us to Book on 9325 1511
Surgery to remove the prostate is used to treat cancer and enlargement of the prostate when it is no longer functioning effectively. The prostate is located at the bottom of the bladder and it helps to maintain continence by reinforcing the bladder and the urethra.
Common symptoms after prostate surgery include; urine urgency and frequency incontinence with cough/sneeze/sit to stand and erectile dysfunction.
Solution: pelvic floor muscle training, rehabilitation of abdominal muscles after surgery, bladder training, erection rehabilitation.
Cardiovascular health is important to help improve your heart function as well as helping to maintain a healthy erection. It is important for your health that you have your blood pressure under control and maintain a healthy lifestyle. It is important to ensure that you eat a well balanced diet as well as exercising regularly.
Aerobic exercises including; walking, jogging, running, cycling, rower, x-trainer.
Strength training: hand weights or barbell or machine weights.
The current recommendations for exercise is 30 minutes a day of moderate intensity exercise that makes you feel moderately out of breath. Resistance training should be undertaken 2-3 times per week.
One in three men over the age of 60 will fracture a bone because of osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is the weakening and thinning of the bones due to age related changes and decline in testosterone in some men.
• Exercises need to be moderate to high osteogenic to continue to stimulate healthy bone growth.
• Exercise at least 3 x /week for 30 mins.
• Exercises should be progressed, e.g. increase weight used, increase the hill intensity, increase time, distance etc.
• Exercises should be challenging to stimulate bone growth.
• Exercises should be varied in their routines.
It is important to incorporate balance exercises as part of an exercise regime to help improve proprioception.
Reduced strength, balance, poor vision and tripping hazards around the home can cause falls. Women and men with low bone mass are at greater risk of fractures.
Nicola is a passionate physiotherapist with a special interest in Endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and pelvic and intimacy pain. She has experience working with a diverse client background and understands the importance of supporting all clients to achieve optimal pelvic health outcomes, for bladder, bowel, intimacy and pelvic pain.
Holly Thompson is a delightful physiotherapist, who exudes care and dedication about meeting her client goals. She has a particular interest in bowel health and perimenopausal pelvic health concerns including; bladder, bowel, prolapse and intimacy changes. Holly works at both our Yarraville and Bundoora Bowel Centre.
Grace is also an experienced musculoskeletal physio with a background in elite running performance and hip problems. Grace brings her enthusiasm for helping new, or not so new, mums return to the exercise level that they desire respecting their pelvic health concerns.
Kim is an experienced musculoskeletal and sports physiotherapist with postnatal and pregnancy experience and Pilates training. Kim is interested in Pelvic Health concerns in the female athlete, including leakage, pelvic pain and optimizing performance post-pregnancy.
Martin brings to the Pelvic health Melbourne Team years of experience as a physiotherapist and his most recent passion is helping men with pelvic health concerns and improving pelvic health outcomes for men. He works with men before and after prostate surgery, men experiencing pelvic pain, bladder and bowel dysfuntion and erectile health including peyronies disease.
Amanda has 10 years experience as a musculoskeletal and Pelvic Health Physiotherapist. She has recently returned from 3 years work at an expert pelvic health clinic in Brisbane, where she worked with clients experiencing a broad range of pelvic health dysfunctions and developed a pelvic floor safe pilates classes for her community. Amanda’s passion is to empower her clients with up to date information to assist their pelvic health needs.
Cara is a co-director of Pelvic Health Melbourne. She is a clinical expert in managing pelvic floor dysfunction with a particular interest in complex bowel health and pelvic pain in men and women.
She has a special interest in ensuring pessary fittings enable women to continue exercising whilst supporting their prolapse
Cara has completed her Masters of Physiotherapy majoring in Pelvic Health. She has also completed her Post Graduate Certificates in Pelvic Floor Physiotherapy and Exercise and Women’s Health at the University of Melbourne. Cara also received a scholarship through the Continence Foundation of Australia and completed her Graduate Certificate in Continence Promotion and Management.
Cara is a tutor in the Post Graduate Pelvic Health and Women’s Health program at the University of Melbourne and is also the state representative on the Australian Physiotherapy Associations’ national CWHPA.
Alex is a senior physiotherapist with over 20 years’ experience in treating musculoskeletal injuries and pelvic health issues. Alex has taught in both the undergraduate and postgraduate physiotherapy courses at the University of Melbourne. She is a clinical expert in the management of pelvic girdle pain and continues to educate in this field.
Alex has two postgraduate diplomas in pelvic health and is the National Chair of the Australian Physiotherapy Association’s, Women’s, Men’s and Pelvic Health Group and a principal at Pelvic Health Melbourne. Her passion is, to improve pelvic health outcomes for every Australian man, woman, and child.
Liz is a dedicated musculoskeletal physio with a background in sports physiotherapy and exercise rehabilitation. She has worked extensively with peripartum women and has a keen interest in pelvic girdle pain in men and women, covering coccyx, pubic symphysis and sacroliliac joint pain. Liz has completed her postgraduate diplomas in the area of pelvic floor physiotherapy which complements her sports and musculoskeletal expertise.
Melissa has 12 years of clinical experience in the sports and pelvic health field, more recently Mel has focused her attention and expertise on (more…)
