Fiona McMahon PT, DPT
Ladies and Gentlemen, it is finally time to go for this blog and go on a deep dive to discuss at length (pun not intended), the physiology, health, and function of an amazing organ, the penis! A couple years ago we talked about testicles in our blog, All About Testicles, which remains one of our most popular blogs. Now it is time to travel north and talk about how people with penises can best care for them and how to address things that may go wrong from time to time. This blog will periodically cover different issues that can (ahem) arise with penises. Today we will go over premature ejaculation. But before we can do all that, lets review how the penis works.
As an organ, a healthy penis is an amazingly complex organ despite it’s seemingly simple exterior. It is the tail end of the urinary system, provides amazing sensation, carries sperm to the outside world, delivers a substance that can neutralize the acidity of the vagina in order to make it more hospitable to sperm, and is able to use the muscles around it to raise the blood pressure in the penis higher than that of the outside body, in order to maintain erection.
The penis is not one tissue all the way through. It has what’s called the tunica albuginea which is the wrapping for the erectile parts of the penis. This guy is really important because it closes off the vein returning blood flow from the penis to keep the penis erect during arousal. Inside the tunica albuginea is the corpus carvernosum and corpus spongiosum. No, these two tissues are not Harry Potter spells, but critical parts of penile infrastructure. The corpus cavernosum fills with blood during erection and helps make the penis hard. The corpus spongiosum keeps the urethra from getting clamped shut during erection so the sperm can get out.
How Does The Penis Get Hard?
Usually, in response to sexual stimulation, the smooth muscles (the involuntary ones, not the pelvic floor) will relax allowing the small blood vessels within the penis to fill with blood, the result is the tunica albuginea ( the wrapping of the erectile parts of the penis) will compress on the veins of the penis, thus preventing the blood returning back to the body. The trapped blood in the penis will cause the penis to get hard and stand up. The lovely muscles of the pelvic floor, specifically the ischiocavernosus will contract to further increase the blood pressure within the penis and keep the penis erect.
What Happens with Ejaculation?
Ejaculation occurs with orgasm. It is possible to have an orgasm without ejaculation if you have had a procedure like a prostatectomy. For a normally functioning penis, ejaculation occurs with orgasm and is what carries the sperm and other fluids to the outside world. The contractions felt in orgasm are what propel the sperm through the penis and to the outside world. The bulbospongiosus is responsible for these contractions and is part of the pelvic floor.
Premature Ejaculation
Here is where I would normally supply you a pithy little statistic like “ 1 in 4 men will experience premature ejaculation in their lifetime”. Unfortunately, I cannot provide any such statistic for this subject because so few people talk about this problem. The clinical definition of premature ejaculation is a little wonky too, and has not consistently been used in research, therefore prevalence data are likely inaccurate. The International Society for Sexual Medicine (ISSM) , in an attempt to improve the medical definition of premature ejaculation defines it as:
- Ejaculation that always or nearly always occurs within about 1 minute of vaginal penetration from the first sexual experience (Defined as lifelong premature ejaculation)
- OR
- A clinically significant reduction in latency time, often to about 3 minutes or less (defined as acquired premature ejaculation)
- Inability to delay ejaculation on all or nearly all vaginal penetrations; and
- Negative personal consequences, such as distress, bother, frustration, and/or avoidance of sexual intimacy (Althof 2014)
If you are a gay or bi-man, or a man who does not have vaginal intercourse you are probably well aware how problematic this definition is. Currently, it is the ISSM’s stance that there is insufficient evidence to draw up criteria for men who have sex in ways other than vaginal intercourse.
As you can tell by the definition, premature ejaculation is divided up into 2 subgroups, lifelong and acquired. The distinction is relatively new in the research and can help patients find better ways to treat their premature ejaculation.
Potential causes of premature ejaculation include:
- Hypersensitivity of the glans( head) of the penis
- Issues with serotonin
- Erectile dysfunction*
- Either stopping or starting drugs
- Chronic pelvic pain syndrome*
- History of rushing early sexual encounters
- Prostatitis*
*These are conditions treated at Beyond Basics Physical Therapy
What to do about premature ejaculation?
Don’t ignore it. Performance anxiety and premature ejaculation can often become a vicious cycle, where one will promote the other. Regardless of how your symptoms started, there is a lot that can be done to improve your sex life.
If you have prostatitis or chronic pelvic pain come to physical therapy. Did you know 90-95 percent of cases of “prostatitis”/chronic pelvic pain are musculoskeletal in nature… ahem… this is one of the most common conditions we treat at Beyond Basics. Overactive muscles, those in the abdomen, legs and pelvis can contribute to symptoms of prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain, (i.e. burning urination, painful ejaculation, sitting pain, genital pain, defecatory pain, urinary or bowel frequency, urgency, retention, incomplete emptying, etc.,.). Physical therapy can go a long way to treating and curing these symptoms by relaxing and lengthening your overactive muscles and strengthening weaker muscles. Prostatitis is a vast subject that requires its own blog. Luckily for you, I already wrote one. Check it out here.
If you are experiencing erectile dysfunction along with premature ejaculation, get thee to a doctor. I already explained to you how amazing the penis is as an organ. Its function is reliant on blood flow, thus problems with erection, especially in younger people may be an early sign that something may be up with your vascular system. Once systemic causes have been ruled out, get thee to physical therapy. We spoke earlier about how the penis requires blood flow and muscles to work properly; pelvic floor physical therapy can restore the function and improve the vascular health of the muscles vital to erection. Erectile dysfunction is yet another subject that could use its own blog. Again, luckily for you, I already wrote one. Check it out here.
If you don’t think erectile dysfunction, prostatitis, or chronic pelvic pain is causing your premature ejaculation, there is still a lot you and your urologist can do. There is new work revealing that certain medications and psychotherapy can really help reduce premature ejaculation. You are not alone in this and you deserve to start feeling better.
Thank you so much for reading our blog, if you think physical therapy can help you. Please give us a call at either our midtown location 212-354-2622 or our downtown location 212-267-0240. We are offering free phone consultations at both offices for a short period!
Fiona McMahon PT, DPT is currently practicing from our midtown location
Check out our other Neater Than Your Peter Blog:
Althof S, McMahon C, Waldinger M, et al. An Update of the International Society of Sexual Medicine’s Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Premature Ejaculation (PE). Sex Med. 2014; 2(2) 60-90
Anderson R, Sawyer T, Wise D. Painful myofascial trigger points and pain site in men with chronic prostatitis/ Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome. J Urol. 2009;182(6): 2753-8
Anderson R, Wise D, Sawyer T. Integration of myofascial trigger point release and paradoxical relaxation training treatment of chronic pelvic pain in men. J Urol. 2005;174(1):155-60
Chronic nonbacterial prostatitis (chronic pelvic pain syndrome). Harvard Health Publications. Harvard Medical School. 2007. http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/chronic-nonbacterial-prostatitis-chronic-pelvic-pain-syndrome. Accessed December 11, 2016
Dean R, Lue T. Physiology of Penile Erection and Pathophysiology of Erectile Dysfunction. Urpl Clin North Am. 2005; 32(4): 379-v
Herman H. “Male and Female Health Wellness and Sexual Function”. New York. 19-20 May 2018
Quinn P. A Multinational Population Survey of Intravaginal Ejaculation Latency Time. J Sex Med. 2005; 2(4) 492-497
