Our Greatest Wealth Is Health

Andrew Siegel MD 3/21/15

“No matter how much you shake and dance,

The last few drops end up in your pants.”

PVD is “after-dribbling” of urine that is more annoying and embarrassing than serious. Although it commonly occurs after age forty, it can happen to men at any age.  Immediately or shortly after completing urination, urine that remains pooled in the urethra (tubular channel that conducts urine) drips out, aided by gravity and movement.

One specific pelvic floor muscle (PFM) is responsible for ejecting the contents of the urethra, whether it is urine after completing urination or semen at the time of sexual climax. With aging and loss of PFM strength and tone, both PVD and ejaculatory dysfunction may occur. The specific muscle responsible for ejecting the contents of the urethra is the bulbocavernosus muscle, which compresses the deep, inner portion of the urethra to function as the “urethral stripper.” In fact, the 1909 Gray’s Anatomy textbook referred to this muscle as the “ejaculator urine.”

Factoid: Dr. Grace Dorey published the landmark article in the British Journal of Urology that proved the effectiveness of PFM exercises for erectile dysfunction (ED), but also demonstrated an association between the occurrence of ED and PVD. She essentially showed that ED and PVD are linked and parallel issues, one sexual and the other urinary—both manifestations of PFM weakness, and both treatable by PFM exercises.

Factoid: Dr. Grace Dorey wrote the foreword to my book, Male Pelvic Fitness: Optimizing Sexual and Urinary Health. She also serves as a board member at Private Gym and helped design the Private Gym male pelvic floor training program for men.

What To Do About PVD?

• PFM training has been proven to be an effective remedy for PVD, with the premise that a more powerful BC muscle will help the process of ejecting the contents of the urethra. Not only will PFM training optimize emptying the urethra, but it also has collateral benefits of improving erections and ejaculation.
• Try not to rush urination. Urologists interpret “Haste makes waste” as “Haste makes PVD.”
• When you are finished urinating, vigorously contract your PFMs to displace the inner urethra’s contents. By actively squeezing the PFM by using the Private Gym “rapid flex” technique—3-5 quick pulsations—the last few drops will be directed into the toilet and not your pants.
• If necessary, PFM contractions can be supplemented with manually compressing and stripping the urethra, but this is usually unnecessary since the PFM—particularly when conditioned—are eminently capable of expelling the urethral contents. To strip the urethra, starting where the penis meets the scrotum, compress the urethra between your thumb on top of the penis and index and middle fingers on the undersurface and draw your fingers towards the penile tip, “milking” out any remaining urine.
• Gently shake the penis until no more urine drips from the urethra. Apply a tissue to the tip of the penis to soak up any residual urine.

Wishing you the best of health,

http://www.AndrewSiegelMD.com

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Author of Male Pelvic Fitness: Optimizing Sexual and Urinary Health: available in e-book (Kindle, iBooks, Nook, Kobo) and paperback: http://www.MalePelvicFitness.com

Co-creator of Private Gym pelvic floor muscle training program for men: http://www.PrivateGym.com Gym-available on Amazon as well as Private Gym website

The Private Gym is a comprehensive, interactive, follow-along exercise program that provides the resources to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles that are vital to sexual and urinary health. The program builds upon the foundational work of Dr. Arnold Kegel, who popularized exercises for women to increase pelvic strength and tone. This FDA registered program is effective, safe and easy-to-use: The “Basic Training” program strengthens the pelvic floor muscles with a series of progressive “Kegel” exercises and the “Complete Program” provides maximum opportunity for gains through its patented resistance equipment.