Recognizing Men's Health Month- Talking About Erectile Dysfunction
It’s June which means it is not just summer and not just pride month, but it is also Men’s Health Month! Men's Pelvic health is not often talked about, as the pelvic area is typically associated with childbirth. However, everyone has a pelvic floor and pelvic health is essential to everyone. Pelvic health is an essential part of physical health when it comes to preventing incontinence of the bladder, organ prolapse, bowel dysfunction, pelvic pain, recovering from pelvic and or sexual trauma, and sexual dysfunction. Pelvic floor dysfunction can cause a great deal of pain and discomfort, but luckily enough there are ways to treat it. For all of the men out there who are wondering if they suffer from pelvic floor dysfunction and what their options are to treat it, you've stumbled upon the right blog.
We all have a pelvic floor, which is the group of muscles that stretch from the pubic bone at the front of your pelvis to the tailbone at the back. It also stretches side-to-side from one sitting bone to the other. It functions like a hammock and has a crucial role in supporting your bladder, bowel and sexual function. Pelvic floor problems can occur when the pelvic floor muscles are stretched, weakened, have scarring, or are too tight. What we want to look at here is how the pelvic floor is tied to your sexual function, and how it can impact erectile dysfunction specifically.
First, let’s look at how erections happen. When you’re aroused your brain sends messages to the blood vessels in your penis, which relax, allowing more blood to flow in. This fills up two tubes of spongy tissue in the penis. The veins running through the outer sheath of the penis are then compressed, which stops the blood from leaving the penis, giving you an erection. When the inflow of blood reduces and the veins open, your erection stops. Your pelvic floor muscles help manage blood flow to your genitals by compressing the penile veins, trapping blood in the penis, creating an erection. There are two main ways pelvic floor problems can lead to erection issues. If the pelvic floor is weak, the outflow of blood isn’t prevented, and an erection can’t be maintained. A pelvic floor that’s too tight — also called a hypertonic or overactive pelvic floor — has been suggested as a possible cause of erectile dysfunction due to compression of the artery that provides blood to the penis.
Pelvic floor muscles can be weakened by a variety of different things, some of those including surgery, constipation, being overweight, persistent heavy lifting, high impact exercise, long-term coughing, aging, etc. Aside from erectile dysfunction, if you have a weak pelvic floor, you might also notice symptoms such as leaking urine during activities like running, jumping or sneezing, a sudden and urgent need to urinate, or leaking stool. There also can be incomplete emptying of the bladder and bowel or frequent trips to the toilet. A pelvic floor physical therapist can asses whether or not you are experiencing tightness or weakness, and can create a plan to heal your pelvic floor and therefore restore proper sexual function. Doing exercises and stretches on your own are difficult for man reasons. First, it’s important to find and understand how to activate your pelvic floor muscles in order to exercise them, which can be difficult and take some practice. You also don't want to strengthen something that is too tight and cause further damage, so it's best to work alongside someone who can assess you and create an individualized plan for your body.
If you want to learn how to activate your pelvic floor muscles, there are some important key things to remember to ensure that you are doing it correctly:
- Do not clench your buttocks when you are doing these exercises
- Keep your legs relaxed
- Keep breathing
- Squeeze and lift rather than tightly clenching
With those tips in mind, here are the next steps:
- Squeeze and draw in the muscles of the urethra and anus at the same time, whilst you keep breathing. You should feel a tightening and lifting when you squeeze and a feeling of letting the muscles go when you relax them
- This should be able to be held for around 10 seconds and also done quickly. I would recommend starting slowly and stopping if you are unsure if you are doing it correctly.
You can do the exercises lying down, sitting, or standing. Try staying in one position throughout the exercise for best results.
With this in mind, if you are suffering from erectile dysfunction or pelvic floor dysfunction that is affecting you sexually, mentally, or physically, you have come to the right place. At Arancia Physical Therapy, we specialize in pelvic health and are eager to get you back to living your best life! Please feel free to contact us online here or reach out to us over the phone at 401-602-7006 for a free consultation. We look forward to seeing you soon!