How to treat men’s pelvic health issues: Incontinence, Erectile dysfunction & Pelvic pain

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The importance of men’s pelvic health

Men’s pelvic health is often overlooked, but pelvic conditions can have a significant impact on a man’s quality of life. Pelvic health is critical to the physical, mental, social, and sexual well-being of every individual.

Men’s pelvic health therapy is a type of physical therapy that helps men with conditions and disorders affecting the pelvis. These conditions can include incontinence, sexual dysfunction, and pelvic, penile or testicular pain.

It can sometimes be difficult to take the first step in getting help for pelvic health issues, but it is important that conditions are treated early to avoid more drastic measures. Here at City Osteopathy & Physiotherapy, our specialists’ number 1 priority is making sure you get the help you need while feeling as comfortable as possible.

 

Conditions Treated with Men’s Pelvic Health Therapy

There are a number of conditions that can be treated with men’s pelvic health therapy. These include:

Incontinence

Pelvic health therapists can help men suffering from incontinence by teaching them the correct way of performing pelvic floor muscle exercise (kegel exercises) and maintain penile health to regain bladder control and erectile function.

The Pelvic health therapy sessions may consist of:

  • Checking the pelvic floor muscle function & strengthening muscle accordingly
  • Checking the bladder function – address poor hydration or toileting habits, and prevent bladder overactivity
  • Education on how to pace physical activities to avoid pelvic floor fatigue which worsens urinary incontinence
  • Follow up checks and modification of exercises and strength training accordingly

Sexual Dysfunction

Pelvic health therapists can help men with erectile dysfunction by providing education and counseling, as well as pelvic floor muscle exercises to improve sexual function.

The Pelvic health therapy sessions may consist of:

  • Checking for erectile function & educate on how to maintain health of penile tissue
  • Follow up checks on erectile function – Introduce penile pump if necessary

Prostate cancer & Prostatectomy

Radical prostatectomy is a common surgery performed to treat prostate cancer when the disease is still confined within the prostate. During the surgery, surgeons carefully remove the prostate and some surrounding tissue while avoiding the intricate network of nerves surrounding the prostate. However, it is unavoidable that some nerves will be stretched or affected during the process resulting in reduced bladder control and erectile dysfunction after the surgery.

As many as 6 out of 10 men who have undergone a radical prostatectomy experience urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction. Urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction can reduce quality of life and affect relationships.

 

How can a pelvic health physiotherapist help someone going through a prostatectomy?

Pelvic health physiotherapists will communicate with and involve your Urologist for medical therapy to enhance the recovery of your erectile function if necessary. A sex therapist may also in involved with your consent to work on maintaining physical intimacy with your partner if needed.

If you are suffering from prostate cancer and preparing to undergo a prostatectomy, you can learn more on how our pelvic health physiotherapists can help pre-prostatectomy and post-prostatectomy to best equip you for the surgery and reduce the time of recovery.

The Pelvic health therapy sessions for prostate cancer patients may consist of:

  • Checking the pelvic floor muscle function prior to surgery & strengthening muscle accordingly
  • General conditioning in preparation for surgery
  • Education on how to pace physical activities after surgery to avoid pelvic floor fatigue
  • Checking the pelvic floor muscle function, reduce difficulty of exercise in the initial months as the body is recovering, before increasing difficulty to improve urinary control
  • Activity pacing according to level of recovery
  • General conditioning to return to desired sport / activity

 

What can I expect from pelvic health therapy as a man?

Your pelvic health therapist will work with you to assess your individual needs and create a treatment plan that is right for you. This may include pelvic floor muscle exercises, education and counseling, as well as other treatments.

We have 4 core principles that we follow to ensure that everyone receives the best care and treatment plan while feeling the best:

  1. We listen carefully – We may ask questions that seem odd or embarrassing, but trust us – it’s relevant, we’ve heard it all, and it stays between you and the therapist.
  2. We explain simply – We want you to take away the most you can from each session, so along the way we’ll explain what we are doing and why. This is also a good time to ask any questions you have. There’s never a bad question and our specialists are always happy to answer.
  3. We assess comfortably – We work at your pace, and within your comfort zones. We can discuss alternative options whenever you feel uncomfortable with a proposed treatment. You may be asked to move around to determine how your back, hips, or core may be correlated to pelvic floor dysfunction.
  4. We plan effectively – After your exam, your therapist will explain what’s happening, what you can do to reach your goals, how long it may take, what to expect next time, and exercises you can do at home to help you manage symptoms. We know, homework isn’t the most exciting, but if you do your part, we promise it will be a much smoother and quicker process!

 

Take charge of your pelvic health

In short, pelvic health therapy is an effective way to improve urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction. In addition, pelvic health physiotherapists can also help pre-prostatectomy and post-prostatectomy to best equip you for the surgery and reduce the time of recovery.

Although it may seem daunting to seek treatment, you will not regret taking charge of your pelvic health and regaining control over your physical, mental and sexual wellbeing. If you want to learn more, drop us a call or visit at any of our 3 clinics, we are more than happy to answer any questions.

How we help you

City Osteopathy & Physiotherapy is a one-stop clinic which provides a comprehensive solution for your pain. Our expert team provides manual hands-on therapy and corrective exercises to help you move better and feel better. 

Our team comprises

Osteopathy

OSTEOPATHS

Osteopathy takes a full-body approach that doesn’t just focus on your symptoms, but focuses on getting to the root cause of your condition.

Our osteopaths utilise various methods from our healing toolkit, such as:

Highly rated physiotherapist Singapore

PHYSIOTHERAPISTS

Physiotherapy focuses on designing tailored treatments & exercise plans to support recovery, rehabilitation, and performance optimisation.

Our physiotherapists may use treatment methods from our healing toolkit, such as:

Massage Therpay

SPORTS MASSAGE THERAPISTS

Sports massage therapy focuses on manual therapy to knead and manipulate muscles and other soft tissues of the body. All sessions include hands-on manual therapy.

Some types of massage provided are:

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