By Elizabeth Akincilar, MSPT, Cofounder, PHRC Merrimack
One in 10 men will suffer from Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome at some point in their symptoms. Men can develop penile pain for numerous reasons:
- Excessive exercise
- Aggressive force and/or frequency of masturbation
- Persisting pain after disease, infection or inflammation
- Aggressive jelqing, attempts at foreskin regeneration, penile enhancement protocols
Symptoms of this include:
- Urinary frequency, urgency, and burning
- Penile & perineal pain
- Post-ejaculatory pain
- Erectile dysfunction
The symptoms are exacerbated by sitting, exercise, ejaculation and urinating and bowel movements. The symptoms of CPPS mimic prostate infections.
Spoiler alert: the majority of men with these symptoms do NOT have a prostate infection. Do you know the proper way to diagnose a prostate infection? Is it a urine sample? A blood test? Chances are you are not aware of the Four-glass test and you need to be. Check out this blog that talks about Why Men Are Given Unnecessary Antibiotics & What to do Instead!
The most common symptoms of pelvic pain that we see in our male patients include penile pain, specifically pain at the tip of the penis. Other common findings include:
- Tight pelvic floor muscles
- Prostate inflammation
- Irritate/inflamed pudendal nerves
- Pelvic girdle and low back pathology
When men report a burning shooting stabbing pain in the shaft or the tip of their penis, that pain is typically due to an irritated nerve – more specifically that nerve is a branch of the pudendal nerve.
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Are you unable to come see us in person in the Bay Area, Southern California or New England? We offer virtual physical therapy appointments too!
Virtual sessions are available with PHRC pelvic floor physical therapists via our video platform, Zoom, or via phone. For more information and to schedule, please visit our digital healthcare page.
In addition to virtual consultation with our physical therapists, we also offer integrative health services with Jandra Mueller, DPT, MS. Jandra is a pelvic floor physical therapist who also has her Master’s degree in Integrative Health and Nutrition. She offers services such as hormone testing via the DUTCH test, comprehensive stool testing for gastrointestinal health concerns, and integrative health coaching and meal planning. For more information about her services and to schedule, please visit our Integrative Health website page.
Melissa Patrick is a certified yoga instructor and meditation teacher and is also available virtually to help, for more information please visit our therapeutic yoga page.
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