Pelvic floor exercises: Treating male urinary incontinence

Male urinary incontinence isn’t a natural part of getting older. There’s a lot you can do to manage - or prevent - symptoms. Pelvic floor exercises can help you take control.

Do pelvic floor exercises for five minutes, two or three times daily, and you could see significant improvement in your urinary incontinence. Another bonus: pelvic floor exercises can also help a man have more intense orgasms and improve erections.

What are pelvic floor exercises for men?

Pelvic floor exercises help you concentrate on and strengthen muscles below the bladder that help control urination.

In men, urinary incontinence can be caused by a weak urinary sphincter, an overactive bladder or a bladder that doesn't contract. Pelvic floor exercises can help you improve - or in some cases completely regain - bladder control.

How can men do pelvic floor exercises?

Pelvic floor exercises are easy to do, once you know which muscles to target. One of the easiest ways to locate your muscles is during urination. Here’s how:

• Halfway through urination, try to stop or slow down the flow of urine.
• Don’t tense the muscles in your buttocks, legs or abdomen, and don’t hold your breath.
• When you can slow or stop the flow of urine, you’ve successfully located these muscles.

Some men find these muscles by imagining that they are trying to stop the passage of wind. Squeezing these muscles gives a pulling sensation; these are the right muscles for pelvic exercises. It's important not to contract other muscles.

Some men need biofeedback to help them target the right muscles.

To do pelvic floor exercises for men:

• Contract these muscles for a slow count of five.
• Release the muscles to a slow count of five.
• Repeat 10 times.
• Do a set of 10 pelvic floor exercises daily, three times a day.

When you’re first starting, it may be easier to do pelvic floor exercises lying down, so your muscles aren’t fighting against gravity. It may also be easier to contract the muscles for just two or three seconds at first.

After a few weeks, increase the time until eventually you’re contracting the muscles for a slow five or 10 seconds, and do the exercises standing up. That puts more weight on the muscles, increasing your workout and improving your control.

Remember not to tense your buttock, legs or stomach muscles while you’re doing pelvic floor exercises.

When will you see results from pelvic floor exercises?

Seeing results with any exercise takes time, so be patient. If you do pelvic floor exercises three times a day, you should see better bladder control in three to six weeks - some men see it even sooner. Try keeping a record of your urine leakage each day to help you notice improvements.

If you don’t see any change in a month, you may not have located the right muscles for pelvic floor exercises. See your doctor or urologist (a specialist in urinary problems). He or she can offer tips on how to find and successfully exercise the right muscles.