Kegel exercises for men: Understand the benefits from MayoClinic.com

Kegel exercises for men can help prevent or control urinary incontinence and possibly improve sexual performance. Here's a guide to doing Kegel exercises correctly.

Think Kegel exercises are just for women? Think again. Kegel exercises for men can strengthen the pelvic floor muscles, which support the bladder and bowel and affect sexual function. With practice, Kegel exercises for men can be done discreetly just about anytime — whether you're relaxing on the couch or driving your car. Before you start doing Kegel exercises, find out how to locate the correct muscles and understand the proper technique.

Benefits of Kegel exercises for men

Many factors can weaken your pelvic floor muscles, including a radical prostatectomy and conditions such as diabetes. Kegel exercises for men can help prevent, treat or delay some of the symptoms caused by weak pelvic floor muscles, such as urine leakage. You may benefit from doing Kegel exercises if you have:

• Urinary or fecal incontinence
• Dribble following urination

Limited research suggests that Kegel exercises for men may also benefit some men who have erectile dysfunction.

How to do Kegel exercises for men

It takes diligence to identify your pelvic floor muscles and understand how to contract and relax them. Here are some pointers:

• Find the right muscles. To make sure you know how to contract your pelvic floor muscles, tightly squeeze the muscles that help prevent you from passing gas or try to stop the flow of urine while you're using the toilet. If you look in the mirror, the base of your penis will move closer to your abdomen and your testicles will rise.
• Perfect your technique. Once you've identified your pelvic floor muscles, empty your bladder and lie down. Contract your pelvic floor muscles, hold the contraction for three seconds, then relax for three seconds. Try it a few times in a row but don't overdo it. When your muscles get stronger, try doing Kegel exercises while sitting, standing or walking.
• Maintain your focus. For best results, focus on tightening only your pelvic floor muscles. Be careful not to flex the muscles in your abdomen, thighs or buttocks. Avoid holding your breath. Instead, breathe freely during the exercises.
• Repeat three times a day. Aim for at least three sets of 10 repetitions a day. You might make a practice of fitting in a set every time you do a routine task, such as brushing your teeth.

Kegel exercises can also be done after you finish voiding, to get rid of the last few drops of urine or to return any feces that haven't been voided up to the rectum. You might also contract your pelvic floor muscles just before and during any activity that puts pressure on your abdomen, such as sneezing, coughing, laughing or heavy lifting. In addition, you might tighten your pelvic floor muscles during sexual activity to maintain an erection or delay ejaculation.

When you're having trouble

If you're having trouble doing Kegel exercises, don't be embarrassed to ask for help. Your doctor or other health care provider can give you important feedback so that you learn to isolate and exercise the correct muscles.
In some cases, biofeedback training may help. In a biofeedback session, your doctor or other health care provider inserts a small monitoring probe into your rectum. When you contract your pelvic floor muscles, you'll see a measurement on a monitor that lets you know whether you've successfully contracted the right muscles. You'll also be able to see how long you hold the contraction.

When to expect results

If you do your Kegel exercises regularly, you can expect to see results — such as less frequent urine leakage — within three to six weeks. Other results, such as improved erectile function, may take three months. For continued benefits, make Kegel exercises a permanent part of your daily routine.
resource: MayoClinic.com

Checking for Testicular Cancer with a 60 Second Self-Exam

Men’s health is best protected by a lifestyle that includes regular testicular examination.  Early detection of tumours on the testes significantly increases survival.

Sixty seconds is all it takes to self examine your own testicles.  It is recommended that all men over the age of 14 conduct a testicular self exam once a month.  This is the best way to become familiar  with your own anatomy so that any changes are noticed right away.

Here is the four step procedure for a testicular self examination (TSE).  It is recommended to do the self exam after a warm bath or shower when the structures in the scrotum are relaxed.

Holding the scrotum, place one testicle between your thumb and fingers and gently feel the entire surface of the testicle rolling it gently between your thumb and fingers.  It should be smooth with no lumps or bumps. Keep feeling all around the testicle and move up to the top where you should be able to feel the epididymis.  It might even extend a bit behind the testicle.   It might be a little tender when pressed but should feel like a “comma” shaped structure. Move up the epididymis and locate the spermatic cord.  It will feel like a tube.  It should be soft and movable. Repeat on the other testicle and your testicular self exam is complete.  It should not take more that 60 seconds.


Treatment

Testicular cancer is treated by removal of the affected testicle (orhiectomy) and radiation or chemotherapy as follow-up treatment if needed.  Testicular self examination is the best way to ensure early detection of tumours on the testes.  If found and treated early survival rates are close to 90%.

Only one testicle is needed for male fertility and normal male sexual functioning so if testicular cancer is detected and treated early, the orchiectomy should not affect sexual activity or plans for family expansion.  Prosthetic devices are available to restore the normal feel and appearance after the removal of the affected testicle.


Early detection through self examination is the best health promotion strategy for protecting mens health.  Like its female counterpart, breast cancer, testicular cancer is not preventable in the sense that the exact mechanisms of cause are not clearly known.
resource: healthnit.com

Grow A Mo and Help Change the Face of Men’s Health

Adam Garone, CEO & co-founder of Movember

Photo: Photo courtesy of Movember.

It’s a simple equation with a powerful result: Moustaches + November = Movember, which begins today, Nov. 1. Starting in Melbourne, Australia in 2003, a small group of men met over a few beers looking for a way to do something fun that would also give back to society. One of them asked, “What about bringing back the moustache?” and with it being called a “Mo” in Aussie slang, Movember was soon born.

It is an understatement to say the movement has had a meteoric rise. Starting primarily as a social event in 2003, Movember saw its numbers rise to 432 participants in 2004 raising $55,000 for the Australian Prostate Cancer Foundation, becoming its top fundraiser in the process. In 2009, global participation climbed to 255,755 from 10 countries with more than one million donors raising $42 million for Movember’s global partners.

“It’s hard to believe what began as a bit of a joke has turned into a global movement for men’s health. It’s humbling to see so many men and women passionately support this cause,” said Adam Garone, CEO and co-founder of Movember. “These days you can’t grow a moustache without people asking what’s going on, and that leads to amazing conversations about cancers that affect men.”

This irreverent campaign – dedicated to changing the face of men’s health – now has a threefold purpose: education and awareness, cancer survivorship through LIVESTRONG and prostate cancer research.


• All “Mo Bros and Sistas” are highly encouraged to learn about the main issues around men’s health, then through the natural curiosity as to why a man is growing a moustache in November, talk about things like age appropriate cancer screening.
• Cancer survivorship, which deals with the practical issues within the cancer community, is the mainstay of LIVESTRONG. Movember funds programs like Fertile Hope, which provides fertility preservation assistance and information, and My Planet, an online community that allows young adults to communicate with others whose lives have been affected by cancer.
• The Prostate Cancer Foundation funds research targeted at better treatments and finding a cure for prostate cancer. The University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center recently made a significant breakthrough via this support, identifying 24 different kinds of prostate cancer and how aggressive each one is, ultimately leading to more effective treatment.


To become a Mo Bro, Mo Sista or learn more about Movember, visit www.Movember.com.
resource: National cancer | Examiner.com