Evidence Highlight

Male Pelvic Health

Author: Molly Self, PT, DPT, Board-Certified Pediatric Clinical Specialist, CAPP-Pelvic 

Published January 1, 2026

What You Need to Know 

Pelvic floor dysfunction in men is common but often overlooked and undertreated despite strong evidence supporting physical therapy intervention as effective treatment.

  • High prevalence: Up to 15% of men experience chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS) and 87% face urinary incontinence following prostatectomy.

  • Effective interventions: Pelvic floor physical therapy can improve outcomes in CPPS, incontinence, and sexual dysfunction using techniques like biofeedback, manual therapy, and exercise.

  • Workforce gaps: 95% of pelvic health clinicians feel underprepared to treat male pelvic health conditions, and access is limited in rural and underserved areas.

Male Pelvic Health and Physical Therapy: Insights from the Literature

Male pelvic floor dysfunction—including CPPS, urinary incontinence, and sexual dysfunction—is prevalent but underrecognized and undertreated. Evidence supports pelvic floor physical therapy as an effective intervention for these conditions.

Despite the research, most physical therapists feel unprepared to treat male patients, and access barriers—especially in rural areas—may limit care.

Addressing these gaps requires investment in and expansion of provider education, telehealth services, and interprofessional collaboration to ensure all men receive evidence-based pelvic health care.

Pelvic floor dysfunction in men is an underrecognized and undertreated area that spans a range of diagnoses including chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS), post-prostatectomy urinary incontinence, erectile dysfunction, constipation, and musculoskeletal pelvic pain. These conditions are highly prevalent, with CPPS affecting up to 15% of men at some point in their lives and urinary incontinence occurring in up to 87% of men in the immediate postoperative period following prostatectomy (Murphy, 2014; Schaeffer, 2008; Gacci et al., 2023). Physical therapists trained in pelvic health play a crucial role in managing these conditions using evidence-based interventions such as pelvic floor muscle training, biofeedback, manual therapy, and behavioral coaching. 

Recent studies have demonstrated that multimodal pelvic floor physical therapy (PFPT)—including myofascial/manual techniques, neuromuscular re-education, and therapeutic exercises—can significantly improve pain, urinary symptoms, and quality of life in men with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) (Ajimsha et al., 2021; Patil et al., 2022; Pendegast et al., 2024; Rabal Conesa et al., 2022; van Reijn-Baggen et al., 2022). Similarly, supervised pelvic floor muscle training, initiated both before and after prostatectomy, has been shown to accelerate continence recovery and improve quality of life (Milios et al., 2019; Yang et al., 2023; Brea-Gómez et al., 2025). A growing body of literature also supports the use of PFPT in managing male sexual dysfunction, with benefits noted in erectile function, ejaculatory control, and pelvic floor coordination (Gbiri & Akumabor, 2023; Myers & Smith, 2019; Sahin et al., 2025; Yaacov et al., 2022).

Despite growing evidence, the physical therapy workforce remains underprepared to treat male pelvic health conditions. In a 2022 national survey, 95% of pelvic health clinicians reported feeling underprepared to treat male patients upon graduation, and 89% believed men’s pelvic health should be included in entry-level DPT curricula (Johnson et al., 2022; Levay, 2022; Scodras et al., 2024). These workforce limitations are compounded by access disparities, particularly in rural and underserved areas where trained providers are scarce and logistical barriers such as travel distance and cost limit care access (APTA, 2022; Rettinger et al., 2023; APTA, 2024). Improving male pelvic health outcomes requires strategic investment in provider training, telehealth services, and interprofessional collaboration to extend evidence-based care to all men in need.

References
Expand / Condense List of References
  • Ajimsha, M. S., Al-Mudahka, N. R., & Ismail, N. H. (2021). Effectiveness of external myofascial mobilisation in the management of male chronic pelvic pain of muscle spastic type: A retrospective study. Arab Journal of Urology, 19(3), 394–400. https://doi.org/10.1080/2090598X.2021.1954414 
  • American Physical Therapy Association [APTA]. (2022, June 13). Breaking through four barriers to better addressing men’s pelvic health needs. American Physical Therapy Association. https://www.apta.org/article/2022/06/13/breaking-through-four-barriers-to-better-addressing-mens-pelvic-health-needs
  • American Physical Therapy Association [APTA], Academy of Pelvic Health Physical Therapy. (2024, December 23). Disparities in access to pelvic floor physical therapy in rural communities. APTA Pelvic Health. https://www.aptapelvichealth.org/info/disparities-in-access-to-pelvic-floor-physical-therapy-in-rural-communities
  • Brea-Gómez, B., Pazo-Palacios, R., Pérez-Gisbert, L., Valenza, M. C., & Torres-Sánchez, I. (2025). Pelvic Floor Muscle Training with Preoperative Biofeedback in Patients with Postprostatectomy Incontinence: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomised Clinical Trials. European urology focus, S2405-4569(25)00080-X. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euf.2025.04.004 
  • Gacci, M., De Nunzio, C., Sakalis, V., Rieken, M., Cornu, J.-N., & Gravas, S. (2023). Latest evidence on post-prostatectomy urinary incontinence. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 12(3), 1190. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm12031190 
  • Gbiri, C. A., & Akumabor, P. N. (2023). Effectiveness of physiotherapy interventions in the management of male sexual dysfunction: A systematic review. International Journal of Sexual Health, 35(1), 52–66. https://doi.org/10.1080/19317611.2022.2155288
  • Johnson, S.,Anderson, R., Hudoba, M., Fischer, A., & Peters, B. “Men’s Pelvic Health Content in Entry-Level Doctor of Physical Therapy Curricula: A Physical Therapy Clinician Perspective.” (2022). DPT Capstone Posters. 19. https://digitalcommons.csp.edu/dpt-posters/19
  • Levay, E. M. (2022). How does exposure to pelvic health content in entry-level physical therapy education relate to Doctor of Physical Therapy students’ comfort in addressing sexual health? (Doctoral dissertation, Bellarmine University). Bellarmine ScholarWorks. https://scholarworks.bellarmine.edu/tdc/140/
  • Milios, J. E., Ackland, T. R., & Green, D. J. (2019). Pelvic floor muscle training in radical prostatectomy: A randomized controlled trial of the impacts on pelvic floor muscle function and urinary incontinence. BMC Urology, 19, Article 116. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12894-019-0546-5
  • Murphy, S. F., Schaeffer, A. J., & Thumbikat, P. (2014). Immune mediators of chronic pelvic pain syndrome. Nature Reviews Urology, 11(5), 259–269. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrurol.2014.63 
  • Myers, C., & Smith, M. (2019). Pelvic floor muscle training improves erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation: A systematic review. Physiotherapy, 105(2), 235–243. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physio.2019.01.002 
  • Patil, S., Daniel, G., Gonzalez Engle, J., Natarajan, J., Tailor, Y., Vyas, R., James, N., Moody, E., & Shrikhande, A. (2022). Urological chronic pelvic pain syndrome improves when underlying neuromuscular dysfunction is addressed in an outpatient, multimodal treatment protocol. Journal of Men’s Health, 18(2), e1–e8. https://doi.org/10.31083/j.jomh1802050 
  • Pendegast, H. J., Leslie, S. W., & Rosario, D. J. (2024). Chronic prostatitis and chronic pelvic pain syndrome in men. In StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK599550/ NCBI
  • Rabal Conesa, R., Bonillo García, M. Á., Cros Soria, N., Hernández Martínez, A., & Alcaraz Serrano, V. (2022). Manual therapy intervention in men with chronic pelvic pain syndrome or chronic prostatitis: An exploratory prospective case-series. Cureus, 14(4), e24481. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.24481 
  • Rettinger, L., & Kuhn, S. (2023). Barriers to video call–based telehealth in allied health professions and nursing: Scoping review and mapping process. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 25, e46715. https://doi.org/10.2196/46715
  • Sahin, S. C., Demir, O., & Kizilay, F. (2025). Pelvic physical therapy for male sexual disorders: A narrative review. International Journal of Impotence Research. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41443-025-01034-5 
  • Scodras, S., Yeung, E., Colquhoun, H., Jaglal, S. B., & Salbach, N. M. (2024). Pelvic health content in Canadian entry-to-practice physiotherapy programs: An online survey. Physiotherapy Canada, 76(1), 25–33. https://doi.org/10.3138/ptc-2023-0030 
  • Schaeffer, A. J. (2008). Epidemiology and evaluation of chronic pelvic pain syndrome in men. International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents, 31(Suppl. 1), S108–S111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2007.08.027 
  • van Reijn-Baggen, D. A., Han-Geurts, I. J. M., Voorham-van der Zalm, P. J., Pelger, R. C. M., Hagenaars-van Miert, C. H. A. C., & Laan, E. T. M. (2022). Pelvic floor physical therapy for pelvic floor hypertonicity: A systematic review of treatment efficacy. Sexual Medicine Reviews, 10(2), 209–230. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sxmr.2021.03.002
  • Yaacov, D., Nelinger, G., & Kalichman, L. (2022). The effect of pelvic floor rehabilitation on males with sexual dysfunction: A narrative review. Sexual Medicine Reviews, 10(1), 162–167. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sxmr.2021.02.001 
  • Yang, J.-M., Ye, H., Long, Y., Zhu, Q., Huang, H., Xie, H.-Y., Luo, Y., Zhong, Y.-B., Chen, J., & Wang, M.-Y. (2023). Effect of pelvic floor muscle training on urinary incontinence after radical prostatectomy: An umbrella review of meta-analyses and systematic reviews. Clinical Rehabilitation, 37(4), 494–515.