When issues related to the pelvic area come up, most of the attention seems to be on women and conditions like pelvic floor dysfunction and urinary incontinence. While these problems are certainly worthy of the attention given to them, it’s important to point out that men can also experience issues in the pelvic area. Pelvic pain is fairly common in the male population, yet many men don’t bring up their condition to doctors out of embarrassment or lack of awareness on what might be causing it. With this in mind, we’d like to inform you that our New York City physical therapists are capable of treating male pelvic pain, and we encourage all men to seek out our services if they are having problems.
To understand why pelvic pain occurs, it’s important to understand a bit more about what the pelvic floor is. The skeletal muscles of the pelvic floor are located at the bottom of the pelvis and wrap around the underside of the bladder and rectum to provide this region with support. Just as spasms of the neck and shoulder can lead to headaches, spasms of the pelvic floor muscles can lead to pain and other symptoms in this region.
When these spasms occur, patients may feel pain in the penis, testicles, perineum—which is often described as feeling like “sitting on a golf ball”—lower abdomen and lower back. Other possible symptoms related to pelvic pain may include urinary urgency or frequency, erectile dysfunction, and painful bowel movements. Together, these symptoms can be a nuisance to everyday life and make it a challenge to function normally.
How our New York City physical therapists address male pelvic pain
At Dynamic Sports Physical Therapy, our New York City physical therapists are trained to treat a wide array of painful and bothersome conditions, and one of these is male pelvic pain. Our therapists can help patients by evaluating the pelvic floor with an internal examination and by using a device called surface electromyography, which assesses the tone and strength of the pelvic floor muscles by placing electrodes on this area. After completing the evaluation, a treatment plan will be designed, which usually consists of the following:
- Joint mobilization performed by the therapist to improve the mobility of the joints and pelvis, as well as the alignment of the spine
- Soft-tissue mobilization, also performed by the hands of the therapist, to restore the length of muscles and relieve muscle spasms
- Whole-body strengthening and stability exercises, and correction of abnormal movements
- Modalities like biofeedback electrical stimulation, which help to retrain muscles and reduce symptoms
Men who are experiencing pelvic pain may still be hesitant to seek out help, but if you fall into this category, we can assure you that there’s nothing to be embarrassed about, and our treatments work. So for any men who are interested in addressing their pelvic pain or any other painful conditions, contact Dynamic Sports Physical Therapy at 212-317-8303 to schedule an appointment today, or click here for more information on male pelvic pain.
