Men’s health is a specialized area of practice within physical therapy that focuses on treating conditions that primarily affect men. Those conditions include pain, chronic constipation, urinary incontinence, bowel incontinence, prostatitis, prostate cancer, and many other problems in the pelvic region.
Throughout the life span, physical traumas, surgical procedures, chronic stress, aging, and other factors create many changes in the man’s body. Oftentimes, these changes lead to pain and dysfunction.
Incontinence (loss of bladder or bowel control)
The involuntary loss of urine or stool can be the result of many things, including weakness of the pelvic floor muscles, prostate cancer surgery, and poor bladder habits. Physical therapy treatment helps restore pelvic floor muscle strength and function through exercise, lifestyle modifications, biofeedback training, and/or gentle electrical stimulation.
As a patient, you are also provided with the information you need regarding normal bladder and bowel function, stress management, and good habits to support your improvements.
Pelvic Pain or Pelvic Floor Tension
Chronic pelvic pain can often be attributed to a musculoskeletal dysfunction such as muscle spasm in the pelvic or lower extremity muscles, or to joint dysfunction in the low back or pelvic region. Abnormal postures and muscle weakness can also lead to pain. The physical therapist uses exercises, education and other modalities to relieve pain and improve function.
Aging
A man’s body changes significantly with advancing age. Musculoskeletal dysfunctions from old injuries are common and can often be effectively treated with manual therapy, exercise and/or supports. Your therapist can provide instruction on movement strategies to perform to promote good abdominal function and pelvic floor muscle strength/tone, as well as provide instruction on proper sitting, resting and exercise. Men’s health care can also be effective for pain resulting from prostate surgeries.