Male Pelvic Pain Physical and Occupational Therapy in Glendale

Male Pelvic Pain Physical and Occupational Therapy in Glendale

If you’re a man in Glendale dealing with chronic pelvic discomfort, it’s important to know you’re not alone—and there is help available. Studies suggest that around 1 in 10 men will experience pelvic floor dysfunction at some point in their lives, and yet many are initially misdiagnosed. Often, these men are told they have prostatitis and are prescribed rounds of antibiotics that ultimately do not address the actual problem. The true culprit in many cases is dysfunction in the pelvic floor muscles—whether from tightness, weakness, or improper coordination—which requires focused pelvic floor physical and occupational therapy rather than medication.

Symptoms you may notice include:

A persistent or recurring burning, tingling, aching, or itching in the penis, scrotum, testicles, or around the perineum or anus
Pain that worsens when sitting for too long, doing certain workouts, or wearing snug underwear
Urinary issues such as frequent urges, difficulty starting the stream, or a weakened flow
Discomfort during or after ejaculation, especially in the genital or perineal region
Erectile dysfunction and changes in ejaculation strength
Digestive symptoms like constipation or a bloated feeling
Flare-ups triggered by activities such as exercise or ejaculation—or sometimes with no obvious cause
Symptoms that appear in cycles, sometimes fading and then returning unexpectedly

For men in Glendale, pelvic floor physical and occupational therapy offers a direct, evidence-based approach to relieving symptoms by tackling the root dysfunction—not masking the pain.

If you’re a man in Glendale dealing with chronic pelvic discomfort, it’s important to know you’re not alone—and there is help available. Studies suggest that around 1 in 10 men will experience pelvic floor dysfunction at some point in their lives, and yet many are initially misdiagnosed. Often, these men are told they have prostatitis and are prescribed rounds of antibiotics that ultimately do not address the actual problem. The true culprit in many cases is dysfunction in the pelvic floor muscles—whether from tightness, weakness, or improper coordination—which requires focused pelvic floor physical and occupational therapy rather than medication.

Symptoms you may notice include:

A persistent or recurring burning, tingling, aching, or itching in the penis, scrotum, testicles, or around the perineum or anus
Pain that worsens when sitting for too long, doing certain workouts, or wearing snug underwear
Urinary issues such as frequent urges, difficulty starting the stream, or a weakened flow
Discomfort during or after ejaculation, especially in the genital or perineal region
Erectile dysfunction and changes in ejaculation strength
Digestive symptoms like constipation or a bloated feeling
Flare-ups triggered by activities such as exercise or ejaculation—or sometimes with no obvious cause
Symptoms that appear in cycles, sometimes fading and then returning unexpectedly

For men in Glendale, pelvic floor physical and occupational therapy offers a direct, evidence-based approach to relieving symptoms by tackling the root dysfunction—not masking the pain.

Causes of Pelvic Pain

Surgical trauma (vasectomy, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) interventions, prostatectomy)
Orthopedic injuries or other traumas (spine, hip, knee, and/or ankle injuries/pathology, accidents)
Biomechanical or structural dysfunction (hip dysfunction, piriformis syndrome, scoliosis, leg length discrepancy)
Excessive exercise or changes to exercise routine
Excessive sitting
Chronic constipation and straining
Jelqing and/or attempts at gential enhancement or foreskin regeneration
In rare cases, bladder, prostate, or sexually transmitted infections after successful resolution of infection
The majority of men with pelvic pain, with or without urinary or bowel complaints, have pelvic floor dysfunction

Causes of Pelvic Pain

Surgical trauma (vasectomy, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) interventions, prostatectomy)
Orthopedic injuries or other traumas (spine, hip, knee, and/or ankle injuries/pathology, accidents)
Biomechanical or structural dysfunction (hip dysfunction, piriformis syndrome, scoliosis, leg length discrepancy)
Excessive exercise or changes to exercise routine
Excessive sitting
Chronic constipation and straining
Jelqing and/or attempts at gential enhancement or foreskin regeneration
In rare cases, bladder, prostate, or sexually transmitted infections after successful resolution of infection
The majority of men with pelvic pain, with or without urinary or bowel complaints, have pelvic floor dysfunction

Diagnostic Challenges

Many men suffering from chronic pelvic pain go years without receiving the correct diagnosis. Studies show that it can take up to seven years for men with these symptoms to get an accurate assessment of what’s truly going on. This delay is often due to the fact that pelvic pain symptoms in men mimic those of prostate infections, urinary tract infections, or sexually transmitted infections. As a result, many healthcare professionals skip comprehensive testing and instead prescribe antibiotics based on assumptions. Unfortunately, this tends to overlook the actual root cause—pelvic floor dysfunction. Adding to the challenge, most pelvic floor therapists receive training focused on treating female anatomy, which can leave men struggling to find qualified care. That’s not an issue at PHRC, where our clinicians are deeply knowledgeable in male pelvic health, and it’s not uncommon for our male caseload to exceed that of our female patients on any given day.

It’s very common for men experiencing pelvic discomfort to receive a misdiagnosis of “prostatitis” and be placed on rounds of antibiotics, only to find little or no relief. However, scientific studies have shown that over 90% of men with persistent genitourinary symptoms—such as pain in the pelvic area, testicles, or perineum—do not actually have a bacterial infection of the prostate. Instead, most of these cases are classified under Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome (CPPS), specifically falling into NIH-defined categories IIIa or IIIb. These forms of CPPS represent a non-infectious source of discomfort that requires a completely different treatment approach.

The National Institutes of Health outlines five categories of prostatitis:

Category I: Acute bacterial prostatitis – sudden and intense onset, accompanied by systemic symptoms and an acute urinary tract infection.

Category II: Chronic bacterial prostatitis – marked by the persistence of bacterial infections in the prostate and recurring urinary tract infections.

Category IIIa: Inflammatory CPPS – identified by the presence of white blood cells in semen, prostatic secretions, or urine, indicating inflammation.

Category IIIb: Non-inflammatory CPPS – similar symptoms but with no white blood cells found in diagnostic fluids, suggesting no inflammation is present.

Category IV: Asymptomatic inflammatory prostatitis – inflammation is discovered during testing, even though the individual reports no visible symptoms.