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Pelvic Floor Exercises for Men

What are the pelvic floor muscles?

The floor of the pelvis is made up of layers of muscle and other tissues. These layers stretch like a hammock from the tail bone at the back to the pubic bone in front. A man's pelvic floor supports the bladder and the bowel. The urethra (urine tube) and the rectum (back passage) pass through the pelvic floor muscles. The pelvic floor muscles play an important role in bladder and bowel control.

Why the pelvic floor muscles may weaken

The pelvic floor muscles can be weakened by

• some prostate gland surgery;
• continual straining to empty your bowels (constipation)
• persistent heavy lifting;
• a chronic cough (such as smoker's cough or chronic bronchitis and asthma;
• being overweight; and
• lack of general fitness.

Pelvic floor exercises

Strengthen the pelvic floor muscles and improve control of the bladder and bowel.

May also be useful in conjunction with a bladder training program, aimed at improving bladder control in people who experience the urgent need to pass urine frequently (urge incontinence).

How to contract the pelvic floor muscles

The first thing to do is to correctly identify the muscles that need to be exercised.

1. Sit, or lie comfortably with muscles of your thighs, buttocks and abdomen relaxed.

2. 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.

3. When you are passing urine, try to stop the flow mid-stream, then restart it. Only do this to learn which muscles are the correct ones to use and then do it no more than once a week to check your progress, as this may interfere with normal bladder emptying.

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.

Doing pelvic floor exercises

Now that you can feel the muscles working, exercise them by:

1. Tightening and drawing 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 and relax. You should have a definite feeling of 'letting go'.

2. Repeat ('squeeze and lift') and relax. It is important to rest for about 10 seconds in between each contraction. If you find it easy to hold for a count of five, try to hold for longer - up to ten seconds.

3. Repeat this as many times as you are able up to a maximum of 8-10 squeezes.

4. Now do five to ten short, fast, but strong contractions.

5. Do this whole exercise routine at least 4-5 times every day.

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

Making the exercises part of your 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.

Other things you can do to help your pelvic floor muscles

• share the lifting of heavy loads;
• avoid constipation and prevent any straining during a bowel movement;
• seek medical advice for hay-fever, asthma and bronchitis to reduce sneezing and coughing; and
• keep your weight within the right range for your height and age.

Seek help

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. The best results are achieved by seeking help from a physiotherapist or continence advisor who will design an individual exercise program especially suited to your muscles.

Where can help be found?

There are many health professionals qualified to assist you with bladder control problems. You may seek assistance from your doctor who may offer treatment directly or refer you to a specialist, or to a qualified continence advisor. You may also seek help and obtain information directly from the following sources:

• National Helpline 1800 330 066
• Continence services and clinics.
• Continence Nurse Advisors.
• Local Community Health Centres.
• Local Doctors.
• Domiciliary Nursing Services.
• Independent Living Centres.
• Continence Foundation of Australia.
• Australian Physiotherapy Association in your state (see telephone book)