Men Have Pelvic Floors Too!

People ask me that question all the time. Which just goes to show how little education we get about this area of the body. 

For men or AMAB people, the muscles are just shaped a little differently with one less opening. But the function of the pelvic floor or bowl is similar to that of a female or AFAB pelvis. It provides support, contributes to bladder and bowel function, and is involved in sexual function.

Why don’t we talk about this? And what causes pelvic floor symptoms in men and people assigned male at birth?

The nerves that innervate (go to and control) the pelvic floor come from the sacral region of your spine, between your tailbone (coccyx) and the lower arch of your spine (lumbar region). When you have a “back” problem, it often means you have a problem with your lumbar spine. Those nerves cause symptoms of back pain, leg pain, leg weakness and so on.

Drop down a couple of vertebrae and issues with the nerves in your sacral region cause symptoms of erectile dysfunction, testicular or penile pain, bladder or bowel issues.

The origins are similar, but once bladder, bowel or sexual function get involved, we stop talking about it. It is ridiculous and unfortunate how undertreated and misunderstood this is.

The good news is, you can get help.

We are specialists in the pelvic floor, independent of the rest of the anatomy it is attached to.  We understand the physiology that contributes to your function and we take a holistic look at how hormones, inflammation, your nervous system, medications, exercise patterns, lifestyle habits etc. are impacting your symptoms.

Not to mention that 95% of people with low back pain also have some measure of pelvic floor dysfunction. The areas are attached! Ignoring the pelvic floor when you have back pain would be like ignoring what your shoulder is doing when you have elbow pain. But too often, that’s exactly what happens with pelvic issues.

What we know is that medication alone or facing pain, cancer or surgery alone is not acceptable. These injuries and illnesses greatly impact your life and you deserve a full understanding and treatment plan to optimize your healing and abilities.  

So yes, we treat men and people assigned male at birth and we believe that they deserve better treatment too.

_{*illustration used courtesy of the Pelvic Guru}