How do Kegel exercises improve erections in men?

Kegel exercises strengthen the pelvic floor muscles – this is the group of muscles which help increase blood flow to the groin and are active during sex. Studies have found that strengthening the pelvic floor muscles can improve sexual function, such as erections, orgasms and ejaculations. After strengthening their pelvic floor muscles through exercise:

• Nearly 5 in 10 men report normal erections

• More than 6 in 10 men report an improvement in premature ejaculation

Doing Kegels properly to improve erections:

• The first step – before doing Kegel exercises you need to locate the correct group of muscles for erections

• The second step – once you know the muscles, you need to exercise to strengthen them

Locating the muscles – when you are urinating, try to stop the flow of urine whilst breathing normally and without clenching the muscles in your buttocks, legs, or abdomen. When you manage to slow or stop the flow of urine, you know that you have located the correct muscles. We do not recommend that you regularly stop the flow of urine because this can be harmful to your bladder. 

The exercises – once you have located the correct muscles: 

• Contract these muscles for a count of four

• Release these muscles for another count of four

• Repeat ten to fifteen times

You could build it into your routine to make sure that you are doing the Kegel exercises regularly. For instance, you can do this exercise whilst you brush your teeth.

It may be worth seeing a healthcare professional for correct instructions on how to do Kegel exercises as some people may be exercising the wrong group of muscles, which can make erection problems worse. 

Are Kegel exercises a treatment for erectile dysfunction?

Kegel exercises are recognised as part of a range of treatment for erectile dysfunction (ED) – for some men, these exercises alone or combined with lifestyle changes (such as stopping smoking, cutting down on alcohol, eating a healthy diet, and exercising regularly) can be enough to improve their ED symptoms to their satisfaction. For others, Kegel exercises are used as part of their management for ED with other types of interventions (such as medications, devices, or counselling).

Kegel exercises have been proven to improve ED symptoms – research has been done into pelvic floor rehabilitation, which is a programme of physiotherapist-led sessions to teach men and women how to strengthen their pelvic floor muscles using different techniques. These studies show that: 

• Pelvic floor rehabilitation programmes are about as effective as surgery

• 42% of men with ED improved with pelvic floor rehabilitation alone 

• 61% of men are better able to control premature ejaculation symptoms after pelvic floor rehabilitation

There is a little more to pelvic floor rehabilitation programmes than just the Kegel exercises – these programmes can use a variety of different techniques, including stimulating the pelvic floor muscles using electrodes. However, these Kegel exercises make up an important part of pelvic floor rehabilitation programmes and will still go a long way in strengthening the pelvic floor muscles.

How do Kegel exercises compare to pelvic floor exercises?

Kegel exercises are just one type of exercise that you can do to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles. There are other exercises which also use the same group of muscles, such as:

• The bridge – lie on your back with your feet hip-width apart and your knees bent. Contract the pelvic floor muscles and lift your hips. Hold for four seconds. Lower your hips to the floor and release your pelvic floor muscles

• The squat – stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Contract the pelvic floor muscles and lower yourself down into a squat. Hold for four seconds. Raise yourself back up to a standing position and release your pelvic floor muscles

Are other pelvic floor exercises as good? – there are advantages to both types of exercises. Kegel exercises can be done discreetly at any time of the day whereas other exercises which use the pelvic floor muscles can be built into an exercise routine. It doesn’t matter which exercises you use to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles, so you can choose the exercises which better suit your lifestyle or even do a mixture of both. 

Can Kegel exercises improve sexual performance for men?

Strengthening the pelvic floor muscles can help improve sexual performance in several ways: 

• Improve the hardness of erections – the pelvic floor muscles encourage good blood flow to the groin area, which is important in getting harder erections.

• Delaying ejaculations – Kegel exercises can help train the pelvic floor muscles to contract on command and depending on the need. It’s important that if you are going to use Kegel exercises mainly for this purpose that you are guided by a healthcare professional as there are specific techniques for doing so.

• Increase the pleasure experienced during sex – good blood flow around the groin area is also an important part in pleasure during sex. 

• Increasing the number of orgasms that men can have in a period of time – strengthening the pelvic floor muscles can mean that the number or strength of orgasms that men experience can increase. 

How else could you improve sexual performance? – there are other ways that you can improve sexual performance. These include: 

• Lifestyle changes – changes such as trying to quit smoking, cutting down on alcohol, eating a low cholesterol diet, and exercising regularly. These simple changes are associated with better erections and increased overall sexual performance. 

• A medical review – sometimes medical conditions that you have or medications that you are taking can cause erection problems. A doctor can make sure that medical conditions are treated or review your current medications to make sure that these are not causing erection problems. 

• Medications, such as PDE-5 inhibitors (including Viagra, Viagra Connect, Sildenafil, Cialis and more) – these medications increase the blood flow to your groin and can improve the hardness and length of time of erections. 

• Devices such as a penis ring or penis pump – these devices encourage the blood flow to your penis which can improve erections

• Counselling (such as psychosexual counselling or couples counselling) – sometimes erection problems are caused, maintained, or made worse by psychological or relationship factors. Tackling these psychological issues can help improve erectile dysfunction (ED) symptoms. 

What other effects do Kegel exercises have on men?

Other benefits – strengthening the pelvic floor muscles have other advantages besides improving the hardness and length of erections. They can also help with conditions such as incontinence as the pelvic floor muscles are also the group of muscles that support the bladder.

Potential downsides – there are downsides to attempting to do Kegel exercises incorrectly. If you do not identify the correct group of muscles, you risk making the symptoms of erectile dysfunction (ED) or incontinence worse. Also, although stopping the flow of urine can be useful in identifying the correct group of muscles, if you do this too often it can be harmful to your bladder.

Kegel exercises should not be uncomfortable or painful – if you find that these exercises are painful as you are doing them or afterwards, you may be doing them incorrectly. Or, Kegel exercises are not suited to your body. Speak to a healthcare professional such as a physiotherapist if you find that this is the case. 

Sources

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Claes, H. and Baert, L (1993). Pelvic floor exercise versus surgery in the treatment of impotence. Br J Urol; 71: 52-7.

Dorey, G. (2005). Restoring pelvic floor function in men: review of RCTs. Br J Nurs, Nov; 14(19): 1014-1021.

Kegel, A. (1952). Sexual functions of the pubococcygeus muscle. Western
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La Pera, G. and Nicastro A. (1996). A new treatment for premature ejaculation: the rehabilitation of the pelvic floor. J Sex Marital Ther; 22: 22-6.

McClurg, D. et al (2006). Comparison of pelvic floor muscle training, electromyography biofeedback, and neuromuscular electrical stimulation for bladder dysfunction in people with multiple sclerosis: a randomized pilot study. Neurourology and Urodynamics, Apr; 25(4): 337-348.

Rosenbaum, T. Y. (2007). Reviews: pelvic floor involvement in male and female sexual dysfunction and the role of pelvic floor rehabilitation in treatment: a literature review. The Journal of Sexual Medicine, Jan; 4(1): 4-13.