Updated July 2024

If you think that pelvic floor issues only affect women, or only occur after someone has a baby, think again! ‘Can Men Have Pelvic Issues?’ will help shed some light on the issues that men can experience with their pelvic floor, some challenges men face, and how pelvic floor physical therapy for men can help!

What is Male Pelvic Health?

Yep, men have pelvic floors too!

Male pelvic health means having a pelvic floor that is sufficiently strong, yet equally flexible and able to relax when needed. The pelvic floor is all of the muscles, ligaments, connective tissues, and nerves between our legs that help your whole body function optimally.

For men, the pelvic floor supports bladder, bowel, and sexual functioning as well as providing core stability.

Can Men Have Pelvic Issues?

Yes - unfortunately, anyone who has a pelvic floor can have issues with its functioning. For people with penises this usually involves issues with bowel, bladder, and sexual functioning, as well as pain in your core and lower body.

Common Male Pelvic Floor Issues

These are some of the common issues men experience that can be caused by pelvic floor dysfunction:

• Pain with urination or bowel movements 

• Urinary urgency or frequency

• Using the bathroom frequently at night

• Urinary incontinence/leaking

• Constipation

• Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)

• Pain with sex

• Pain with erection or ejaculation

• Premature ejaculation

• Erectile dysfunction (ED)

• Hip or low back pain that just will not go away

• Pain in the penis, scrotum, rectum, or perineum 

• Tailbone pain

• Pain with sitting or inability to sit for long periods of time

• Chronic pelvic pain syndrome

• Chronic prostatitis (Type 3)

• Sciatica that doesn’t get better with orthopedic physical therapy

What Challenges Do Men Face with Pelvic Health?

Most of the time men have seen too many doctors, taken too many antibiotics, read too many scary forums, and spent too many hours trying to self diagnose before they get help. Male pelvic floor issues are not often discussed between friends, colleagues, or with medical providers even though they are quite common. Prostatitis accounts for about two million visits to health care providers in the United States each year.[1]

So why is it so difficult for men to find treatment? Females know to see a gynecologist if something is off about their vagina or vulva, but penis owners often don’t know which specialist to turn to. A primary care physician first prescribes antibiotics, a urologist then tries another drug before referring to a psychiatrist when that drug doesn’t work either, and no one is really addressing the underlying issue. Confusion about who to see and discomfort with discussing their symptoms prevent many men from seeking help.

Confusion about who to see and discomfort with discussing their symptoms prevent many men from seeking help.

Can Men Benefit from Pelvic Physical Therapy?

Good news! Pelvic floor physical therapy helps to address the underlying cause of pelvic floor dysfunction in men. If you are having trouble finding the cause of your pelvic pain, urinary dysfunction, sexual dysfunction, etc and have seen many specialists without any luck, I strongly encourage you to seek out a pelvic health physical therapist in your area who treats penis owners. An individualized conversation, examination, evaluation, and treatment plan might be exactly what you need to improve your current situation.

Pelvic floor physical therapy helps to address the underlying cause of pelvic floor dysfunction in men.

If you are a penis owner who is dealing with any or all of the things listed above, please know that these problems are NOT embarrassing or shameful, they do NOT make you less masculine or weak, they do NOT define you, and you do NOT have to suffer from them in silence! 

If you have seen orthopedic physical therapists in the past and have not gotten better, a pelvic physical therapist may be able to help you! Pelvic physical therapists specialize in the pelvic floor and have unique training that allows them to do specific assessments and treatments for this area that other physical therapists cannot do. 

We hope that you’ll share this article with the penis owners in your life, even if they aren’t currently experiencing any issues. Knowledge is power, and pelvic health is wealth!

[1] Barry MJ, Collins MM. Benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostatitis. In: Goldman L, Schafer AI, eds. Goldman’s Cecil Medicine. 24th ed. Philadelphia: Saunders; 2011: 805–810.