Painful Erection or Orgasm
Condition Overview
Painful orgasm or erection is a type of sexual dysfunction resulting in pain when achieving erection or ejaculation. This may be occurring due to a variety of conditions including direct trauma to this area, infection, hormone disruption, pelvic floor muscle tension, and a specific diagnosis called Peyronie’s disease.
Pelvic floor muscle tension can cause painful erection or orgasm, because the muscles need to go through simultaneous contraction and relaxation throughout sexual activity, so if the muscles are tense they will be unable to do this and may have difficulty or discomfort performing normally.
Peyronie’s disease is an abnormal curvature in the penis caused by development in scar tissue in the penis. This is most typically felt at the top of the penis but it can wrap around the shaft. Peyronie’s is more common in men over the age of 40, those with a genetic predisposition, in men with connective tissue disorders or autoimmune disorders, or those who have suffered from penile injury with internal bleeding.
Symptoms Include:
Pain can vary in intensity and duration and can be a dull or sharp sensation. It can occur in the penis, bladder, or rectum immediately before, during, or after erection or ejaculation. This pain is never normal and should be assessed when you start feeling this discomfort.
How Does PT Help?
Thankfully, PT can help with all of these causes! Even if the root cause is an infection, a lot of times our muscles respond negatively to infections and end up being affected in some way. So, getting rid of the infection will not always get rid of the pain and discomfort during erection or orgasm even though it is a necessary starting place!
Upon our initial evaluation, we will discuss your bowel, bladder, and sexual health as well as the onset of your symptoms and any recent changes with medical history.
With your consent we may perform an external and internal rectal pelvic floor muscle assessment to examine muscle function, strength, endurance, and coordination. With this assessment, we will determine if there is a muscular component to your pain and dysfunction.
From our findings we will set-up a treatment plan depending on your pelvic floor characteristics! A lot of time with painful erection and orgasm, the superficial pelvic floor muscles as well as the abdominal muscles tend to have tension and tenderness so this is an important piece of therapy going forward.
If there is a possibility of Peyronie’s disease, we will teach you the soft tissue massage techniques to work on at home to improve scar tissue mobilization.
We will utilize downtraining techniques such as diaphragmatic breathing and manual treatment including dry needling, cupping, and connective tissue mobilization to reduce tissue tension and improve mobility and muscle function. It may also be necessary to perform kegel exercises to work on coordination and strength of these muscles once we reduce pain.
With each session we will progress as able and learn new activities to include in your daily routine to manage and prevent worsening symptoms!