Why Men Should See A Pelvic Floor Therapist

Written by Alex Ariza
Reviewed by Irene Hernandez, PT, DPT

Everyone has pelvic floor muscles. So why is it that almost all information relating to pelvic floor therapy focus solely on women?

There are obvious reasons why Pelvic Floor Therapy is normally associated with women’s health issues. For starters, Pelvic Floor Dysfunction is far more prevalent in women than men, especially pregnant women.

Although this is true, there is still a fair amount of men suffering from symptoms associated with pelvic floor dysfunction. What’s worse is that most of them don’t even know it.

In fact, many times even medical doctors can misdiagnose pelvic floor dysfunction with much more serious conditions and diseases since symptoms can feel very similar to them. Sometimes this can lead to prescribing unnecessary medications and antibiotics, and in more extreme cases, surgery.

All of this could be preventable if men were more informed about their bodies and if medical practitioners knew more about pelvic floor issues.

When men suffer from erectile dysfunction, painful urination, frequent & involuntary urination, painful ejaculation, constipation, or pain after having a bowel movement, the last thing they would suspect is a problem with their pelvic floor muscles. And who can blame them?

Pelvic Floor Therapy for Men

At Park Sports Physical Therapy, part of our mission is to educate our patients about their bodies and the reasons they feel the symptoms that they do. We also stress the importance of preventative care, and the steps they can take through exercise and posture to keep them functional.

Our pelvic floor specialist, Irene Hernandez, DPT, specializes in treating both women AND men. We strongly encourage our male patients suffering from any of the conditions or symptoms listed above to come in for an evaluation.

Learn more about the pelvic floor and the different conditions associated with pelvic floor dysfunction by visiting this page.

The pelvic floor plays a few roles. For one, it is a group of muscles that form the “bottom” of your body’s core. This keeps the organs in place and from dropping out of the pelvis.

The second major responsibility of the pelvic floor is the control of the sphincters. This includes the anus and urethra. Weak pelvic floor muscles can result in incontinence – or the inability to hold in urine and/or feces. An over contracted pelvic floor will make it difficult to make a bowel movement, leading to constipation, or the inability to release urine.

The third major responsibility of the pelvic floor is sexual function. For men, dysfunction of the pelvic floor can lead to erectile dysfunction (ED). There are many other factors that can play into ED, but seeing a pelvic floor specialist can alleviate and correct muscles related to healthy sexual function.

Male Pelvic Floor Medical Illustration - Illustrated by Amy Stein - Heal Pelvic Pain
Male Pelvic Floor Medical Illustration – Illustrated by Amy Stein – Heal Pelvic Pain
Original Source: https://www.healpelvicpain.com/

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Introducing Our New Pelvic Floor Therapist

Written by Alex Ariza & Irene Hernandez, PT, DPT

At Park Sports Physical Therapy we are always on the lookout for talented specialists who will be able to help our patients dealing with specific conditions and injuries.

We would like to introduce you all to our newest pelvic floor therapist, Irene Hernandez, DPTPark Slope location – 142 Prospect Park West.

Your pelvic floor plays a major role in controlling urination and bowel movements. For many women, incontinence, or the inability to control the bladder releasing urine, is a common problem, especially after  childbirth. Unfortunately, due to the nature of this condition, many people do not address pelvic floor dysfunction. New mothers, expecting mothers, and men living in Brooklyn will now have access to Pelvic Floor Therapy.

Our Pelvic Floor Therapist can help patients suffering from the following:

  • Pregnancy: pelvic and/or back pain, pubis symphisis dysfunction, swelling and varicosities in legs and genital area
    • Post-partum: treatment of episiotomy and tears, rehabilitation of the strength and function of pelvic floor muscles after child-birth, re-training of the abdominal wall to close diastasis rectus abdominis
  • Bladder dysfunction: incontinence of urine, excessive frequency and / or urgency of urination, painful or difficult urination (start stop, incomplete)>
  • Bowel dysfunction: incontinence of feces or gas, constipation due to tightness and not associated to dietary of GI problems
  • Ongoing pain in your pelvic region, genitals, or rectum.
  • Endometriosis pain: A disorder in which tissue that normally lines the uterus grows outside the uterus.
  • Pain during or after intercourse in male and female: vaginismus, vulvodyinia, vestibulodynia, pain with erection or ejaculation, erectile dysfunction caused by muscle tightness
  • Prolapse of female organs: descend of uterus, bladder or rectum into the vagina
  • Post-opt prostatectomy: rehabilitation of pelvic floor for men

If you want to learn more about pelvic floor therapy and if you would like to know if you need this specialized form of care, please contact us by calling us at (718) 230-1180 or filling out the form below.

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