Pelvic Floor
Exercises for Men
What and Where is the Pelvic
Floor Muscle
Men experience a variety of
problems with their urinary system, leading to unwanted leakage of urine. Some also have difficulty controlling wind or
leakage from the bowels. Often this is
due to a weakness of the muscles of the pelvic floor, which have an important
function in preventing these troublesome conditions. In particular, pelvic floor exercises have
been shown to be effective following surgery on the prostate and when men
experience a dribble after passing water.
The floor of the pelvis
is made up of layers of muscle and other tissues stretching from side to side
like a hammock and attached to your tail bone (coccyx) at the back and to the
pubic bone in front. The urethra
(bladder outlet) and the rectum (back passage) pass through the pelvic floor
muscles. The hammock of muscle supports
the bladder and the bowel and plays an important role in bladder and bowel
control.
Why the Pelvic Floor
Muscles get Weak
The pelvic floor
muscles can be weakened by:
- some operations for an enlarged prostate gland
- continual straining to empty your bowels, usually due to
constipation
- a chronic cough, such as smoker’s cough or chronic
bronchitis or asthma
- being overweight.
Although there is no
research evidence, it is thought by many that lack of general fitness and
persistent heavy lifting tend to result in weakening of the pelvic floor.
Neurological damage
(e.g., after a stroke or spinal injury, or resulting from multiple sclerosis or
other conditions) can also produce poor pelvic muscle function. People in
this group need to seek advice from a healthcare professional.
Pelvic
Floor Exercises
You can improve control
of your bladder and bowel by doing exercises to strengthen your pelvic floor
muscles. These exercises may also be
useful in conjunction with a bladder retraining program aimed at improving
bladder control in people who experience the urgent need to pass urine frequently and may not always "make it in time".
How to Identify your
Pelvic Floor Muscles
The first thing to do
is to identify correctly the muscles that need to be exercised.
- Sit or lie comfortably with muscles of your thighs, buttocks
and abdomen relaxed.
- Tighten the ring of muscle around the back passage as if
you are trying to control diarrhoea or wind. Relax it. Practice this movement several times
until you are sure you are exercising the correct muscle. Try not to squeeze your buttocks or
tighten your thighs or tummy muscles.
- Imagine you are passing urine, trying to stop the flow
mid-stream, then restarting it. (You can do
this "for real" if you wish, but do so only to learn which
muscles are the correct ones to use: do not make a practice of it or it
may interfere with normal bladder emptying.) If your technique is
correct, each time that you tighten your pelvic floor muscles you may feel
the base of your penis move up slightly towards your abdomen.
- If you are unable to feel a definite squeeze and lift
action of your pelvic floor muscles (or are unable to even slow the stream
of urine as described in point 3), you should seek professional help to
get your pelvic floor muscles working correctly. Even men with very weak pelvic floor
muscles can be taught these exercises by a physiotherapist or continence
advisor with expertise in this area. Consult with your own health care
provider for information and assistance.
Doing Your Pelvic
Floor Exercises
Now that you can feel
the muscles working, you can start to exercise them:
- Tighten and draw in strongly the muscles around the anus
and the urethra all at once. Lift
them up inside. Try and hold this
contraction strongly as you count to five, then release slowly and relax
for a few seconds. You should have a definite feeling of "letting
go".
- Repeat ("squeeze and lift") and relax. It is important to rest in between each
contraction. If you find it easy to
hold the contraction for a count of five, try to hold for longer - up to
ten seconds.
- Repeat this as many times as you are able up to a maximum
of 8-10 squeezes. Make each
tightening a strong, slow and controlled contraction.
- Now do five to ten short, fast, but strong contractions,
pulling up and immediately letting go.
- Do this whole exercise routine at least 4-5 times
every day. You can do it in a
variety of positions - lying, sitting, standing, walking.
- While doing the exercises:
- DO NOT hold your breath.
- DO NOT push down instead of squeezing and lifting up.
- DO NOT tighten your tummy, buttocks or thighs.
Do your exercises well.
The quality is important. Fewer good exercises will be more beneficial
than many half-hearted ones.
Make the Exercises a
Daily Routine
Once you have learnt
how to do these exercises, they should be done regularly,
giving each set your full attention. It
might be helpful to have at least five regular times during the day for doing
the exercises - for example, after going to the toilet, when having a drink,
when lying in bed. You will wish to
tighten your pelvic floor muscles also while you are getting up from a chair,
coughing or lifting. Some men find that
by tightening before they undertake such activities they assist themselves in
regaining control.
Good results take time.
In order to build up your pelvic floor
muscles to their maximum strength you will need to work hard at these
exercises. You will probably not notice
an improvement for several weeks and you will not reach your maximum
performance for a few months.
When you have recovered
control of your bladder or bowel you should continue doing the exercises twice
a day for life.
Other Tips to Help
Your Pelvic Floor
- Avoid constipation and prevent any straining during a
bowel movement.
- Seek medical advice for hay-fever, asthma or bronchitis to
reduce sneezing and coughing.
- Keep your weight within the right range for your height
and age.
- Share the lifting of heavy loads.
Variation on Pelvic Floor
Exercises
There are different types of
pelvic floor exercises: the quick pelvic floor exercises and the slow pelvic
floor exercises. Every pelvic floor
muscle squeeze needs to be done as strongly as you possibly can. This is called a maximal squeeze and it is the
only way that muscle strength can be improved.
In performing the quick
exercises, the pelvic floor muscles are rapidly tightened and relaxed. During the slow exercises, the muscles are
tightened for 6 seconds and then relaxed. Try to complete six maximal slow squeezes three
times a day, as well as six fast squeezes. The exercises can be done with other
activities such as reading, watching television and relaxing (sitting and lying
down).
Another Variation on Pelvic Floor Exercises
Squeeze and Release
Start by squeezing and releasing
the muscles 15 times. Don’t hold the
contraction, just squeeze and release.
Do the Exercises Every Day
At first, do
one set of 15, twice a day. Try to
concentrate on squeezing only your pelvic floor muscles, not your stomach and
thighs. It will become easier with
practice.
Gradually increase the number
until you can do 40 or 50 at a time. Build
up slowly.
When you’re comfortable doing 40
or 50, you can vary the exercise by holding each contraction to the count of
three before releasing. Again, build up
slowly until you can achieve 40 or 50.
It may take up to six weeks to
begin to feel the benefits, but you will definitely feel them.
Additional Benefits of Pelvic Floor Exercises for
Men
Pelvic floor exercises for men have been
found to be highly effective in restoring erectile function according to
recently published research. Research at
the Faculty of Health and Social Care at the University of the West of England,
Fifty-five men with an average age of 59 years who had experienced erectile
dysfunction for six months or more took part in the trial, based at the
Compiled by RAO-Osan.com from the following web sites:
http://www.continence-foundation.org.uk/symptoms-and-treatments/pelvic-floor-exercises.php
(this page starts with exercises for women, for whom these exercises were
originally developed, and then discusses exercises for men)
http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/features/pelvicexercises_003841.htm
http://www.poise.com/au/bladder_control/exercises.asp
http://ww.uwe.ac.uk/UWENews/Default.asp?item=368