Chronic pain, sexual dysfunction and incontinence can all stem from problems with your pelvic floor — and many men don’t even know they have one.
In his early 30s, Chad Woodard spent hours cycling around New York City training for an Ironman triathlon. Around the same time, he began to experience pelvic pain and erectile dysfunction. He never suspected his workouts could be the cause.
Dr. Woodard, now an assistant professor of physical therapy at Hunter College, had been in practice for several years, but it was only when a urologist asked him if he treated men with pelvic floor dysfunction that he began to educate himself about the pelvic floor, an umbrella term for the sling of muscles, ligaments and nerves at the base of the torso that supports the bladder, bowels and reproductive organs.
When the pelvic floor becomes either overly lax or overly tight in men, it can cause incontinence, sexual dysfunction and pain in the scrotum, rectum or groin.
Dr. Woodard had heard passing mentions of the pelvic floor during his training, but he had no idea what pelvic floor physical therapy was.
Pelvic floor treatment isn’t taught in depth in most physical therapy programs, so Dr. Woodard sought out continuing education coursework in pelvic care, and discovered that he himself was suffering from pelvic floor dysfunction.
After he successfully treated his conditions using the exercises he was learning, he dedicated his practice to helping other men. After treatment, “they can live their life again,” he said, now more than a decade later.