Pelvic floor exercises for men

Men often use pelvic floor exercises, or as they’re sometimes known, Kegel exercises, to improve bladder control. This is not surprising, as there are many benefits to having a strong pelvic floor. For many men, pelvic floor exercises can improve recovery after prostate surgery, reduce the risk of urinary leakages and dribbling after urination, and improve control when feeling an urgent need to urinate.

Let’s talk about something that doesn’t always get the attention it deserves: male urinary incontinence. In simple terms, it’s when a guy loses bladder control and unintentionally leaks urine.¹

Urinary incontinence isn’t just a physical issue; it can take a real toll on confidence and emotional well-being. Many men feel embarrassed, anxious about accidents, or even avoid social situations altogether because of this.

It’s also more common than you might think, affecting around 11–31% of older men.²

There are a few key reasons why men experience urinary incontinence. It can be a natural part of aging, but it’s often linked to other factors like:

• Prostate issues: The prostate plays a big role in urinary function. Conditions like an enlarged prostate or prostate surgery could lead to leakage.¹
• Obesity: Carrying extra weight puts added pressure on the bladder, making it harder to control. ¹

Want to know more? Here are some causes of male urinary incontinence.

There are different types of urinary incontinence, with each one affecting guys in its own way. Let’s break it down.

• Stress Incontinence: Ever notice a small leak when you cough, sneeze, laugh, or lift something heavy? That’s stress incontinence.¹ It happens when there’s pressure on the bladder, leading to accidental leaks.¹
• Urge Incontinence: This one feels like an unstoppable, sudden urge to pee, even if your bladder isn’t full.¹

Men often use pelvic floor exercises, or as they’re sometimes known, Kegel exercises, to improve bladder control. This is not surprising, as there are many benefits to having a strong pelvic floor. For many men, pelvic floor exercises can improve recovery after prostate surgery, reduce the risk of urinary leakages and dribbling after urination, and improve control when feeling an urgent need to urinate.

Let’s talk about something that doesn’t always get the attention it deserves: male urinary incontinence. In simple terms, it’s when a guy loses bladder control and unintentionally leaks urine.¹

Urinary incontinence isn’t just a physical issue; it can take a real toll on confidence and emotional well-being. Many men feel embarrassed, anxious about accidents, or even avoid social situations altogether because of this.

It’s also more common than you might think, affecting around 11–31% of older men.²

There are a few key reasons why men experience urinary incontinence. It can be a natural part of aging, but it’s often linked to other factors like:

• Prostate issues: The prostate plays a big role in urinary function. Conditions like an enlarged prostate or prostate surgery could lead to leakage.¹
• Obesity: Carrying extra weight puts added pressure on the bladder, making it harder to control. ¹

Want to know more? Here are some causes of male urinary incontinence.

There are different types of urinary incontinence, with each one affecting guys in its own way. Let’s break it down.

• Stress Incontinence: Ever notice a small leak when you cough, sneeze, laugh, or lift something heavy? That’s stress incontinence.¹ It happens when there’s pressure on the bladder, leading to accidental leaks.¹
• Urge Incontinence: This one feels like an unstoppable, sudden urge to pee, even if your bladder isn’t full.¹
• Overflow Incontinence: When your bladder doesn’t empty completely, it can lead to frequent dribbling or leakage.¹
• Functional Incontinence: Sometimes, the problem isn’t the bladder itself but physical or cognitive challenges that make it harder to reach the bathroom in time (think mobility issues or conditions like Parkinson’s). ¹
• Post-micturition dribble: Ever feel like you’ve finished urinating, but then a small, unexpected leak happens afterwards?3 That’s post-micturition dribble, caused by leftover urine in the urethra.

Kegel exercises aren’t just for women! These simple yet powerful exercises help to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles, which play a crucial role in bladder control and sexual function.⁴ For men, strong pelvic muscles mean better control over urine flow and fewer leaks; especially if you’re dealing with stress or urge incontinence. ⁴

Men can benefit just as much as women by doing kegel exercises. Whether you’ve had prostate surgery, struggle with leakage, or just want better bladder health, Kegels can help to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles.⁴

One of the benefits of Kegels are that they can be done anywhere, no equipment needed. Other benefits include⁴

• Improved Bladder Control
• Reduced Risk of Leakage
• Support After Prostate Surgery.
• Better Sexual Health

Stay consistent with your exercises, and you’ll likely see results over time.

Bladder retraining is a widely used technique to enhance bladder control and manage urge incontinence more effectively. This involves becoming aware of patterns of incontinence and relearning skills necessary for storage and proper emptying of the bladder. This includes avoiding ‘just-in-case’ visits to the bathroom as well as avoiding last-minute rushes. Skills worked on may include:

• Practicing the bladder's ability to hold urine. This is done by increasing the amount of urine the bladder can hold while lengthening the amount of time between voiding intervals. In other words, delaying urination. 
• Not rushing to the bathroom in the middle of an urgency feeling, try to distract yourself in some way
• Squeezing the pelvic floor muscle when experiencing the urge to urinate 
• Allowing plenty of time and planning bathroom visits to avoid stress.

Time between bathroom visits can be gradually extended in this way. A bladder diary could be a helpful tool. It’s also helpful to try to avoid things that can irritate the bladder and cause urgency feelings such as drinking too much or too little and drinks that can irritate the bladder, such as coffee, black tea, and energy drinks .

Prostate Pain and Swelling

Pelvic floor exercises can be particularly helpful for men recovering from prostate surgery.4 After surgery, the pelvic floor muscles may weaken, leading to incontinence.⁴ By strengthening these muscles, you can improve bladder control.⁴ 

Improve Sexual Function

Pelvic floor strength plays a significant role in sexual health and function.4 A strong pelvic floor helps may even improve sexual performance!⁴

Before jumping into Kegel exercises, you first need to find the right muscles. Here’s how:

• Try stopping your urine flow. The next time you’re urinating, see if you can slow down or stop the flow mid-stream. The muscles you use to do this are your pelvic floor muscles.
• Take note of the feeling. You should feel a slight lifting or tightening sensation around your pelvic area. That’s the muscle group you’ll be working on during Kegel exercises.
• Don’t use this as an exercise. Stopping your urine flow is just a test, not an actual workout. Doing it too often can disrupt your bladder’s natural function, so only use this method to locate the muscles.
• Practice engaging them. Once you know which muscles to activate, practice squeezing them when you're not urinating, like while sitting, standing, or lying down.
• Get expert help if needed. If you're struggling to find the right muscles, a pelvic floor physiotherapist can help guide you.

Once you’ve got the hang of it, you’re ready to start strengthening those muscles with regular Kegel exercises.

Kegel exercises are simple but only work if done correctly. Follow these steps to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles the right way^1,2