I am often asked if I treat male clients and the answer is yes I do. I don’t see them as often because my niche falls under pregnancy and postpartum, but as a pelvic floor therapist I do have the scope to also treat male clients. While pelvic floor dysfunction is often looked at as a “female issue”, we as providers are working to break that narrative- everyone has a pelvic floor!!
The male pelvic floor serves the same functions as the female pelvic floor including sexual function, maintaining continence both of urine and feces and often plays a role in low back health. The pelvic floor can be tight, weak or oftentimes both; common dysfunctions seen in the pelvic floor across the board include:
- Sexual Dysfunction
- Urinary Frequency/Difficulty Urinating
- Constipation/Diarrhea
- Pain with Bowel Movements
- Low Back Pain
- Groin and/or Hip Pain
- Abdominal Aches and Pains
More specifically related to the male population, pelvic floor dysfunction can present in the form of:
- Testicular Pain
- Erectile Dysfunction
- Hard Flaccid Syndrome
- Athletic Pelvic Dysfunction
The pelvis houses pathways for a large amount of nerves, blood supply and attachment sites for several large muscle groups. Any of these can be compromised during surgery, with inactivity, or with muscle dysfunction and respond favorably to pelvic floor therapy.
Pelvic floor therapy would provide an in depth evaluation to uncover the source of the dysfunction and work to restore balance in order to improve overall quality of life. For so many men, these diagnoses often go untreated simply due to the fact that they don’t know there is a solution.
If you have questions or think you may be suffering from pelvic floor dysfunction, talk to your healthcare provider about pelvic floor physical therapy and if you would like to schedule an appointment with Dr. Susan, click here to schedule a curiosity call.