What Is Premature Ejaculation?
Premature ejaculation refers to when an individual experiences orgasm or ejaculation sooner than desired during sexual intercourse or masturbation. The amount of time it takes to reach ejaculation can vary from person to person, but with premature ejaculation it occurs too soon.
Typically, an individual struggling with premature ejaculation may reach orgasm anywhere from one to three minutes after the start of sexual activity, but this timing can vary. In other words, premature ejaculation cuts a sexual experience short—often resulting in sexual dissatisfaction.
Premature ejaculation can occur at any point in a person’s life, even after they’ve had no previous troubles during sexual activity before. Some individuals experience it the very first time they try sexual activities, while others may not experience the condition until much later in life.
Occasional premature ejaculation is not typically a cause for concern, but if it occurs very frequently or is disrupting your sex life, it may be time to seek treatment.
While premature ejaculation can be inconvenient, there’s no reason to be ashamed or embarrassed. It is a common condition, and is also very treatable with pelvic floor physical therapy!
What Causes Premature Ejaculation?
Premature ejaculation can be attributed to a variety of different factors. One of the main causes is pelvic floor dysfunction, a condition where your pelvic floor muscles fail to function as they typically should.
Everyone has a pelvic floor regardless of the genitals they are born with, and it plays a huge role in your daily life: controlling continence, supporting your organs, and even maintaining sexual function and appreciation!
Unfortunately, those muscles can become dysfunctional. When they are tight, inflexible, uncoordinated, or weak, they’ll struggle to perform their normal functions. For those with a penis, this dysfunction can create sexual struggles such as erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, trouble with erections, pelvic pain, and more.
Many individuals experience these sexual dysfunctions alongside other symptoms such as incontinence, constipation, frequent urination, urinary urgency, and more. This is due to the fact that the pelvic floor handles many different jobs, as mentioned earlier.
In terms of premature ejaculation, the pelvic floor muscles need to be strong, flexible, and coordinated in order to perform properly. They’ll need to be able to perform a series of contractions and relaxations to allow for a strong orgasm (and ejaculation) to occur.
However, when these muscles are weak and uncoordinated, they’ll be very sensitive and unable to delay this ejaculation. When you are unable to actively control your pelvic floor muscles, you’ll have a harder time delaying ejaculation, and may have weaker orgasms, too.
Receiving treatment for premature ejaculation may seem intimidating, but there’s no need to worry! Many physical therapists are very experienced with all sorts of pelvic floor dysfunction, and have truly seen it all—including myself!
Rest assured that I work hard to create a welcoming, understanding, and safe environment for your treatment experience. Your comfort level is my top priority! I take the time to explain every treatment in detail, and always request consent before any treatment or examination.
Below, I’ll talk more about the treatments I use to address premature ejaculation so that you can have a better idea of what the treatment process may look like.
How Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy Can Help
Pelvic floor physical therapy is a very effective form of treatment for premature ejaculation as it addresses the root of the problem: pelvic floor dysfunction. By relieving tension, improving coordination, and restoring strength to your pelvic floor, your symptoms of sexual dysfunction and premature ejaculation will be alleviated!
To safely and effectively achieve these pelvic health goals, you’ll need to work with a pelvic floor therapist such as myself! I accept patients of all ages and gender identities, and have many years of experience treating a variety of conditions. I’m also dedicated to reducing the shame and stigma often associated with sexual health—so you can feel safe while working with me.
To address your symptoms of premature ejaculation, I’ll create a treatment plan that best suits your individual needs and pelvic floor health. This care plan can involve a variety of treatments!
Firstly, to improve coordination, it’s important to understand how your pelvic floor muscles work—in other words, how they contract and relax, and what that feels like. To improve your coordination and pelvic floor control, I’ll lead you through many different activities, exercises, and education.
Improving coordination often requires treatments like neuromuscular re-education and biofeedback, which will allow you to regain control and familiarity over your pelvic floor through practice and real-time feedback. Once you understand how to contract and relax your muscles, you’ll be better able to build strength and reduce tension!
Relieving pelvic floor tension is an important part of premature ejaculation treatment. Tension can make your tissues very sensitive, which can make controlling ejaculation more difficult.
To relieve pelvic floor tension, I’ll use treatments such as manual therapy, stretching, breathing techniques, and more. All of these treatments help to not only reduce tension, but also improve your pelvic floor’s mobility and flexibility!
However, reducing pelvic floor tension in the long run may also mean modifying certain behaviors that can cause that tension. Poor standing or sitting posture, poor form while lifting or playing sports, or even certain restroom habits can harm your pelvic floor without you knowing! Therefore, I’ll be sure to explore these topics with you and suggest improvements as needed.
Lastly, to improve strength in your pelvic floor, I’ll create an exercise plan full of pelvic floor exercises and other activities. Building strength in your pelvic floor may sound simple, but you often need to address other areas of your body as well. Your pelvic floor is interconnected with many different structures including your lower back, abdominals, and hips.
If any of these areas are imbalanced, it can lead to a build-up of tension. Therefore, you can expect a well-rounded workout plan that suits your body’s individual needs!
As you can see, there are many types of treatments that may be included in your care plan. However, I make sure to curate a unique plan for each and every patient’s own situation and needs. If you’d like to get started with an evaluation to see what your care plan could look like, book an appointment with me! Or, if you still have questions about treatment, have them answered with a discovery call.
