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Pelvic floor dysfunction is a condition that occurs in both men and women which can severely hamper your life. That’s why you should know about it. Knowing what to look for can help you identify this annoying and possibly painful condition.
In this post, you’ll learn everything there is to know about pelvic floor dysfunction including what it is, what are its symptoms, and what you can do about it.
Let’s go right ahead and get started.
What Is Pelvic Floor Dysfunction?
Pelvic floor dysfunction occurs when a person’s pelvic floor muscles become too weak or tight. It also happens when the pelvic floor muscles are stretched out. This results in constipation and difficulty urinating.
Women who suffer from pelvic floor dysfunction could experience pain during sexual intercourse. Men can have trouble having or maintaining an erection — a common symptom of erectile dysfunction.
Pelvic floor dysfunction will affect organs in the pelvic region. These organs are:
- Bladder
- Prostate (for men)
- Rectum
- Vagina and Uterus (for women)
Muscles in the pelvic region will continue to tighten even in situations when they’re supposed to be relaxed such as during bowel movement. You’ll also feel it when you lift heavy objects. Some experience chronic pelvic pain and have trouble urinating.
What Are the Symptoms of Pelvic Floor Dysfunction?
How would you know if you have pelvic floor dysfunction? Pelvic floor dysfunction has several symptoms with urinary tract infections, constipation, and pain in the lower abdomen being the most common ones.
Here are just some of the symptoms that you should be looking for:
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Urinary tract infection
- Severe pelvic pain (or a burning feeling)
- Abdominal pain
- Constipation
- Painful bowel movements
We’ll talk about male-specific symptoms later.
What Causes Pelvic Floor Dysfunction in Men?
There are many things that can cause pelvic floor dysfunction in men. Some of its causes occur naturally while others can be triggered by an accident.
For instance, obese people are more likely to develop problems in their pelvic floor. You also get it as you grow older.
You can also damage your pelvic floor muscles if you get yourself into an accident.
Overexerting your pelvic muscles while defecating can lead to pelvic floor dysfunction too. If you lift heavy objects all the time or perform high-impact exercises, you can get chronic pelvic pain syndrome.
Some experts believe that pelvic floor dysfunction can run in the family. However, researchers are still trying to determine the genetic cause.
How Can Pelvic Floor Dysfunction Affect Men?
Pelvic floor dysfunction can affect a man’s reproductive system. It can lead to:
Urinary Tract Dysfunction
This condition refers to any abnormal behavior relating to one’s bladder or bowel. This includes frequent urination and leaking urine or feces.
Erectile Dysfunction (ED)
Erectile dysfunction refers to when a man is unable to get or maintain an erection. Just note that there are plenty of possible explanations as to why a man can develop ED. Pelvic floor dysfunction just happens to be one of them.
40% of men are affected by erectile dysfunction at age 40. And the percentage goes higher as men grow older.
Prostatitis
This condition refers to the inflammation of the prostate which is the male reproductive gland. Just like ED, there are many reasons why a man could get prostatitis.
For example, there’s acute bacterial prostatitis which—as the name suggests—a prostate inflammation caused by a bacterial infection.
Around 8.2% of men will develop prostatitis in their lifetime.
It’s best to consult a doctor to confirm if your prostatitis is caused by pelvic floor dysfunction.
How to Treat Male Pelvic Pain?
There are different treatment options for males with pelvic floor dysfunction. And the good news is that there’s only a small chance that you’ll have to undergo a surgical procedure.
Since the problem is with your muscles, most of the remedies will focus on relaxing the muscles to get everything back to normal.
You’ll have to talk to a male sexual health specialist in Tampa to see which treatment option is best for you.
Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy
Your doctor will most likely recommend that you do pelvic floor physical therapy.
A physical therapist will conduct a physical examination using special sensors to determine which areas of your pelvic floor muscles are causing you pain. Then you’ll do exercises that will stretch the affected muscles to loosen them up.
The whole process will probably take a couple of sessions before you start feeling better. So you’ll have to stick with it to see any progress. In a study, only 29% of pelvic floor physical therapy participants finished their treatments.
Oral Medication
There’s no medication that treats pelvic floor dysfunction directly. However, men can take medications that relieve some of the symptoms.
For instance, there are medicines that make bowel movement easier by turning your feces softer. This lets you excrete waste without adding more strain to your pelvic muscles.
Talk to your doctor about which medication you should take.
Pelvic Floor Exercises
Perform pelvic floor exercises to work the affected muscles. What’s great about pelvic floor exercises is that you can do them almost anywhere — it doesn’t matter whether you’re lying down, standing up, or sitting down.
Monitor your progress and report it back to your therapist so that the exercise can be adjusted as needed.
Relaxation Techniques
You can do things that can help you relax like taking a warm bath or doing breathing exercises. When you sit down, you should have both your feet planted firmly in the ground so that your back will be in its naturally arched position.
And don’t sit down on hard surfaces if possible. Otherwise, you’ll risk straining your pelvic floor.
There is a scenario when your doctor will recommend surgery. If your pelvic floor dysfunction was caused by rectal prolapse, a condition that causes your rectal tissue to fall into your anal opening.
Pelvic floor dysfunction is highly treatable. But you will have to talk to your doctor right away once you feel any of the symptoms. This is so that you can get started with treatment as soon as possible.
Tampa’s Leading ED Clinic Can Help Men Regain Their Sexual Vitality
If you’re having sexual health issues such as pelvic floor dysfunction, contact Tampa’s Prestige Men’s Medical Center now to schedule an appointment to have a consultation with their experienced and specially trained medical staff. We are a leading men’s clinic providing ED therapy, PE therapy, Low Testosterone therapy, RestoreWave therapy, hormone therapy, and much more.
Don’t miss out on any opportunities you can find to get the proper treatment and achieve a happy and fulfilling sex life. Give our team a call today to schedule your appointment.
