No matter your gender, your sex life can suffer when you ignore your pelvic floor. A healthy pelvic floor can help mitigate issues like erectile dysfunction, pain during sex, and urgent, frequent trips to the bathroom. It can impact your quality of life inside and outside of the bedroom. It can help improve your confidence, comfort in your body, and ability to perform. But it can also increase your sexual satisfaction and decrease dysfunction that occurs naturally as you age. Here’s what you need to know to keep your pelvic floor in excellent condition.
Pelvic Floor 101
Many people don’t know what the pelvic floor is, much less how they can enhance its health. Your pelvic floor is an area where your muscles and ligaments support vital organs like your bladder, bowels, and reproductive organs. And all too often, it’s an area that we fail to give the attention it deserves.
Your pelvic floor health is affected as you age, and it becomes even more essential to take care of it. But other lifestyle factors can also make you lose tone, like childbirth, trauma, constipation, weight issues, and other constant pressures. Pelvic floor health is especially crucial for people who have had prostate surgery. The incontinence that you have afterwards can sometimes be alleviated by strengthening the pelvic bowl.
How to Determine If Your Pelvic Floor Is Weak
If your pelvic floor is weak, it doesn’t just impact the areas you might expect, like pain in the pelvis. Some surprising ways a weak pelvic floor can show up in your body include lower back discomfort, painful ejaculation, urine leakage, and incontinence. Penis owners who have Peyronies disease may experience a worsening pelvic floor strength. Even some cases of erectile dysfunction may be attributable to pelvic floor issues. If you have erectile dysfunction, watch my video below to learn how to have great sex anyway:
Pelvic floor health isn’t just measured by how strongly you can contract your muscles; it’s also measured by how quickly and fully you can relax them after a contraction. The inability to release your muscles can stand directly in between you and a healthy sex life because this extended contraction could make orgasm or penetration painful.
Pain during sex tends to become more frequent and common as you age—it doesn’t typically go away on its own. Pain during sex can become so intense that you may find that you have no interest in sex. It can even cause some couples to go through periods of sexlessness. When you are having these symptoms, it’s crucial to find help at the onset so that you can alleviate them before they affect your relationships.
Where to Find Help
Sure, you’ve probably heard about Kegel’s, but they may not be the best option for pelvic strength. If you do Kegel’s incorrectly, you could end up in more pain than you had before. Learning which exercises will help or worsen your condition from a specialist will help put you on the right path. Physical therapy can be a lifesaver, but make sure you find someone who specializes in pelvic floor health. Pilates, yoga, and plyometric exercises can help you build strength as well.
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Bio: Dr. Nazanin Moali is a clinical psychologist and sex therapist in the Los Angeles area. She works with various individuals to understand and improve their sexuality. Dr. Moali conducts personal consultation sessions in her Torrance and Hermosa Beach offices, or via a secure, online video-counseling platform. Click here to take the sex quiz for women.