Scrolling for sex advice? Stop right there.
On TikTok, a pelvic floor exercise long popular with women is being repackaged as a fix for erectile dysfunction (ED) in young men, with influencers promising stronger, longer-lasting results between the sheets.
But doctors warn it’s no magic bullet — and for some patients, it can make problems in the bedroom even worse.
“[This] is one of the most common and consequential misconceptions I see,” Dr. Justin Houman, a urologist with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, told The Post.
The move? Kegels.
Originally developed to help women treat urinary incontinence after pregnancy and childbirth, Kegels are now increasingly used by men to strengthen pelvic floor muscles, which support the bladder and bowel.
The exercise involves tightening your pelvic floor muscles — like you’re trying to stop yourself from peeing or passing gas — holding for a few seconds, then relaxing and repeating.
“If you’re a young guy who’s trying to optimize your sexual health, generally speaking, pelvic floor exercises can help,” Houman said.
The same goes for men with clear signs of pelvic floor weakness, like trouble controlling urine or recovering from prostate surgery.
“However, in many young men with erectile dysfunction, the pelvic floor is actually hypertonic, meaning the muscles are too tight, not too weak,” Houman explained. “When those men start doing Kegels, they’re essentially adding tension to an already overloaded system, which can impair blood flow and nerve signaling to the penis and worsen erectile function.”
And it’s not just about getting hard.
Overworked or chronically tight pelvic floor muscles can also cause premature ejaculation, reduced penile sensation and less intense orgasms.
“In this case, it’s essential to work on pelvic floor muscle relaxation and lengthening before working on Kegels and strengthening,” said Jessie Klein, a pelvic floor physical therapist and owner of Willow Pelvic Health.
In her practice, Klein assesses each patient’s pelvic floor and prescribes exercises accordingly.
“In cases where patients have increased muscle tone, we work to reduce their pelvic floor muscle tone and teach them how to relax their pelvic floor muscles through manual techniques and therapeutic exercises,” she said.
The best way to check if your pelvic floor muscles are weak, tight, or balanced is with a physical therapist like Klein — but Houman said there are subtle signs that your muscles may be too tight.
“If you’re one of those guys who experiences lower abdominal pain, lower back pain, any kind of testicular or scrotal pain, even upper thigh pain, you may fall into the bucket of pelvic floor dysfunction or spasms,” he said. “In those cases, Kegels could hurt you rather than help you.”
Around the world, ED is the most common sex-related condition reported by men to healthcare providers.
Traditionally, it’s been seen as an older man’s problem, with studies showing about 50% of men between 40 and 70 will experience some form of ED.
But that profile is changing. Increasingly, younger men are reporting trouble getting and maintaining an erection firm enough for satisfying sex.
In many cases, the issue isn’t physical — it’s stress and anxiety, Houman said, which can also trigger pelvic floor dysfunction and make the problem worse.
“Most guys carry anxiety in two places: In their head and in their pelvic floor,” he explained.
“In this modern era, young men are experiencing a lot more anxiety for a number of reasons, and that’s why we’re seeing so much more pelvic floor dysfunction in younger men.”
For these men, Houman said addressing anxiety — through breathing exercises, therapy, meditation and other techniques — may help relax the pelvic floor and give them a lift between the sheets.
“This is the last thing from a death sentence, but it takes patience … because anxiety takes a while to resolve or learn how to control or manage,” he said.
“I always tell guys, I’m not worried about whether or not you’ll get better. It’s not a question of if — it’s just a question of when.”
