i have searched but not found my answer.....i react to situations/stress by clenching/tensing my anus/pelvic floor muscles I do it over the simplest things on the computer,washing up, even talking to a friend...
what tips is there to stop this? or will I just stop over time with the standard relaxation,internal massage,baths etc etc?...or is there more I can do?
clenching/holding the pelvic floor tight
clenching/holding the pelvic floor tight
Age: | Onset Age: | Symptoms: | Helped By: | Worsened By:
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scoobysnacks
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and there is the hardest part...
I was so tight that I couldnt just relax it on my own even when I knew that was the problem. Over time, with awareness, stretching, internal/external massage, benzos if necessary, anti-inflammatory creams, warm baths, relaxation, and just taking it much easier this will loosen up.
So, now I can feel when I'm strating to do it. Somtimes just when washing the dishes. So I stop what I'm doing, and try to drop the floor. Usually I can. Its gonna take time, and all the above. But, awareness is step one.
Perseverence is a big key to this....
I was so tight that I couldnt just relax it on my own even when I knew that was the problem. Over time, with awareness, stretching, internal/external massage, benzos if necessary, anti-inflammatory creams, warm baths, relaxation, and just taking it much easier this will loosen up.
So, now I can feel when I'm strating to do it. Somtimes just when washing the dishes. So I stop what I'm doing, and try to drop the floor. Usually I can. Its gonna take time, and all the above. But, awareness is step one.
Perseverence is a big key to this....
Age:29 | Onset Age: 25.5 | Symptoms: Initially burning in prostate/perineum, burning in urethra, uncontrollable muscle contraction before urinating, dual ache in groin, left testicle pain, feeling of golf ball in rectum, soarness in rectum, and muscle spasms, now mainly very mild urinary tract inflammation, burning mildly after ejaculation, some days after physical activity involuntary mild muscle contraction before urinating | Helped By: .5 mg of Ativan, Aleve (naproxen), quercetin, alcohol in large quantities (vodka and soda), stretching, walking, internal massage the perineum area and levators. | Worsened By: sitting, weightraining, jogging, coffee, caffeine in general, alcohol bothered me at first, overdoing sex
cheers scobby...i will drop you a PM at some point as I think we got a lot in common especialy as regards the weight training.....holding our stomachs in for yrs was the biggest problem as I beleave thats why we have problems clentching and not letting it release as its been used to being "sucked up" for yrsscoobysnacks wrote:and there is the hardest part...
I was so tight that I couldnt just relax it on my own even when I knew that was the problem. Over time, with awareness, stretching, internal/external massage, benzos if necessary, anti-inflammatory creams, warm baths, relaxation, and just taking it much easier this will loosen up.
So, now I can feel when I'm strating to do it. Somtimes just when washing the dishes. So I stop what I'm doing, and try to drop the floor. Usually I can. Its gonna take time, and all the above. But, awareness is step one.
Perseverence is a big key to this....
Age: | Onset Age: | Symptoms: | Helped By: | Worsened By:
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scoobysnacks
- Retired Mod
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you are right, I believe this caused the tightness of the perineum area for me. I'm working through it though. I'm about 1yr in to no lifting. It sucks, short and simple. Was around all my bodybuilding buddies this past weekend, and it certainly gave me the smalls, was feeling inclined to hit the gym, but my wife stopped me. I would say at the rate I'm at, I have another 6mo-1yr to be better.
Please do PM me with any specifics you may need.
Regards,
Ss
Please do PM me with any specifics you may need.
Regards,
Ss
Age:29 | Onset Age: 25.5 | Symptoms: Initially burning in prostate/perineum, burning in urethra, uncontrollable muscle contraction before urinating, dual ache in groin, left testicle pain, feeling of golf ball in rectum, soarness in rectum, and muscle spasms, now mainly very mild urinary tract inflammation, burning mildly after ejaculation, some days after physical activity involuntary mild muscle contraction before urinating | Helped By: .5 mg of Ativan, Aleve (naproxen), quercetin, alcohol in large quantities (vodka and soda), stretching, walking, internal massage the perineum area and levators. | Worsened By: sitting, weightraining, jogging, coffee, caffeine in general, alcohol bothered me at first, overdoing sex
I was told by Dr. Hannos' team at the University of Pennsylvania that I should activelly engage my pelvic floor muscles, which over time will help them relax easier (as they get stronger). Has anyone received similar advice?
Age: 35; Duration: 13 years off/on; Current | Symptoms: penile sensitivity/burning-base, tip, etc; Helps: walking, HOT baths, Ultram ER, lumbar nerve blocks (when I get them for my herniated disc pain); Hurts: sitting too long, bowel movements, ejaculation, caffeine, stress
If I'm keeping all this straight, the Stanford/Wise-Anderson Protocol (SP) and AHIP say to NOT try to engage or tighten the muscles, but many people seem to disagree and I've seen numerous older threads where people were told to do exersizes by their provider.
In short, it's somewhat controversial.
In short, it's somewhat controversial.
I am not a doctor too!
Age 64, sudden onset 5/06 during bout of flu, colitis, lung and liver problems. Pain in penis, then moved to rectum. No urinary symptoms. Use Lyrica, Elavil, paxil, Xanax, morphine, vicodin, relaxation, pads for sitting, 100+ PT sessions. Sensitive to gluten, milk protein, soy. I have CFS, anxiety, GERD, Barrett's, colitis, kidney stones, one of which referred pain to penis.
Age 64, sudden onset 5/06 during bout of flu, colitis, lung and liver problems. Pain in penis, then moved to rectum. No urinary symptoms. Use Lyrica, Elavil, paxil, Xanax, morphine, vicodin, relaxation, pads for sitting, 100+ PT sessions. Sensitive to gluten, milk protein, soy. I have CFS, anxiety, GERD, Barrett's, colitis, kidney stones, one of which referred pain to penis.
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LightningTree
- Sage
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Hi,
Yes, this issue gets a little confusing for people because of the contrast between Kegel exercise and the Stanford/Wise-Anderson Protocol.
In traditional pelvic physiotherapy, the thinking was that pain was caused by weak musculature, resulting in things not supporting each other correctly. Also, many women experience incontinence with age as well as with child birth, and so Kegel exercises were performed in order to strengthen the pelvic floor.
With Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome,a newer name for what we have, AHIP theorizes that long term tension in the pelvic floor results in chronically shortened muscles and pain. Under this theory, the solution is not to strengthen the pelvic floor with Kegels, but instead to do stretching, relaxation, and the moment-to-moment practice of keeping your pelvis relaxed.
I follow the Stanford approach.
Scoobysnacks is hitting the nail on the head when he talks about how tricky keeping your pelvis relaxed is. The process I use to try is called moment-to-moment relaxation.
There are a few things to consider:
1) This is difficult and has been described by some observant posters as being similar to learning to be unable to ride a bike. Think about it,once you learn to ride a bike it is intuitive and you do it through body memory. Clenching and tension holding behaviors are similar. They are connected to core emotions we often try to bury, and even under awareness, our bodymemory immediately tries to perform the tension holding. Learning to stop this behavior is an ongoing challenge, even for veterans. But you will get better at it with time.
Still, sometimes, for example, when I am in a crowded place, I still get some tension and mild discomfort. I'm still working on the moment-to-moment part and will my whole life.
2) Relaxing the pelvic floor requires that you first know what a tense pelvic floor is. For many of us, we are so used to pelvic tension that relaxing the pelvic floor will feel 'weird'. You just have to keep at it. Also, you are likely to, at first, fail to even know how to relax your pelvic floor. For this stage of learning,I recommend using your hands. When you are in the privacy of your own home, put your hands down your pants
and rest your hand on your perineum (the place between your testicles and your anus) and just try to relax the muscles there (There are many there, you just never knew they existed!) When you get better at relaxing that part of your body, move to the anus (this is a little less pleasant.) You will learn in time what a relaxed , normal tension state is.
3) Do stretching. I recommend all of the stretches in AHIP plus a few more that get to the deeper muscles. But don't worry about the extra ones for a while.You need to be very flexible with the ones in AHIP first.
4) When you are relaxed, take a moment to use your hand to feel your pelvic tension. This is the state you normally want to be in,so if you are accidentally relaxed, take advantage of the opportunity to set a baseline for what it should all feel like.
5) The pain will not immediately respond to relaxation. Just like when you squint in the sun,you can't just stop squinting and make a headache go away. It can take hours. But with Pelvic tension, it can literally come back every day for a year or more until you learn to stay calm, stretch the muscles out, and learn to quickly resolve the occasional flare.
6) Mind matters. Anxiety promotes your sympathetic nervous system. This part of your nervous system promotes keeping your bladder closed and filling. Only through the parasympathetic nervous system will the bladder contract and get rid of urine buildup. The parasympathetic response is the relaxing "rest and digest' response. It promotes calmness and enforces the results of calmness.
Most importantly, parasympathetic response is required to overcome your semi-conscious pelvic tension. It is a fact that the parasympathetic vagus nerve actively overrides your conscious control of pelvic floor tension when you urinate. But if you are very anxious, it won't overcome the sympathetic nerves and the bladder neck will remain clenched, and you won't be able to pee much, and you will habitually clench your bladder and prostate shut and cause pain. Then, you get even more anxious, strengthening the sympathetic clenching more. Then you get depressed, weakening the parasympathetic response of the vagus nerve. This is a vicious cycle.
The Stanford/Wise-Anderson Protocol promotes healthy motor control of the pelvic floor.It produces a healthy, reduced level of sympathetic activity through relaxation. And it promotes a healthy, strong parasympathetic response through breathing, stretching, relaxing, and having hope. The moment-to-moment relaxation works on the final third, your consciously controllable pelvic floor tension
I am 99.9% fine. I have no pain today, no urinal symptoms. I went 4 months without any symptoms, then had a brief 1 week period of bladder and urethra stinging, and am now back to being symptom free. Pretty good, eh? You can get there too.
Yes, this issue gets a little confusing for people because of the contrast between Kegel exercise and the Stanford/Wise-Anderson Protocol.
In traditional pelvic physiotherapy, the thinking was that pain was caused by weak musculature, resulting in things not supporting each other correctly. Also, many women experience incontinence with age as well as with child birth, and so Kegel exercises were performed in order to strengthen the pelvic floor.
With Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome,a newer name for what we have, AHIP theorizes that long term tension in the pelvic floor results in chronically shortened muscles and pain. Under this theory, the solution is not to strengthen the pelvic floor with Kegels, but instead to do stretching, relaxation, and the moment-to-moment practice of keeping your pelvis relaxed.
I follow the Stanford approach.
Scoobysnacks is hitting the nail on the head when he talks about how tricky keeping your pelvis relaxed is. The process I use to try is called moment-to-moment relaxation.
There are a few things to consider:
1) This is difficult and has been described by some observant posters as being similar to learning to be unable to ride a bike. Think about it,once you learn to ride a bike it is intuitive and you do it through body memory. Clenching and tension holding behaviors are similar. They are connected to core emotions we often try to bury, and even under awareness, our bodymemory immediately tries to perform the tension holding. Learning to stop this behavior is an ongoing challenge, even for veterans. But you will get better at it with time.
Still, sometimes, for example, when I am in a crowded place, I still get some tension and mild discomfort. I'm still working on the moment-to-moment part and will my whole life.
2) Relaxing the pelvic floor requires that you first know what a tense pelvic floor is. For many of us, we are so used to pelvic tension that relaxing the pelvic floor will feel 'weird'. You just have to keep at it. Also, you are likely to, at first, fail to even know how to relax your pelvic floor. For this stage of learning,I recommend using your hands. When you are in the privacy of your own home, put your hands down your pants
and rest your hand on your perineum (the place between your testicles and your anus) and just try to relax the muscles there (There are many there, you just never knew they existed!) When you get better at relaxing that part of your body, move to the anus (this is a little less pleasant.) You will learn in time what a relaxed , normal tension state is.3) Do stretching. I recommend all of the stretches in AHIP plus a few more that get to the deeper muscles. But don't worry about the extra ones for a while.You need to be very flexible with the ones in AHIP first.
4) When you are relaxed, take a moment to use your hand to feel your pelvic tension. This is the state you normally want to be in,so if you are accidentally relaxed, take advantage of the opportunity to set a baseline for what it should all feel like.
5) The pain will not immediately respond to relaxation. Just like when you squint in the sun,you can't just stop squinting and make a headache go away. It can take hours. But with Pelvic tension, it can literally come back every day for a year or more until you learn to stay calm, stretch the muscles out, and learn to quickly resolve the occasional flare.
6) Mind matters. Anxiety promotes your sympathetic nervous system. This part of your nervous system promotes keeping your bladder closed and filling. Only through the parasympathetic nervous system will the bladder contract and get rid of urine buildup. The parasympathetic response is the relaxing "rest and digest' response. It promotes calmness and enforces the results of calmness.
Most importantly, parasympathetic response is required to overcome your semi-conscious pelvic tension. It is a fact that the parasympathetic vagus nerve actively overrides your conscious control of pelvic floor tension when you urinate. But if you are very anxious, it won't overcome the sympathetic nerves and the bladder neck will remain clenched, and you won't be able to pee much, and you will habitually clench your bladder and prostate shut and cause pain. Then, you get even more anxious, strengthening the sympathetic clenching more. Then you get depressed, weakening the parasympathetic response of the vagus nerve. This is a vicious cycle.
The Stanford/Wise-Anderson Protocol promotes healthy motor control of the pelvic floor.It produces a healthy, reduced level of sympathetic activity through relaxation. And it promotes a healthy, strong parasympathetic response through breathing, stretching, relaxing, and having hope. The moment-to-moment relaxation works on the final third, your consciously controllable pelvic floor tension
I am 99.9% fine. I have no pain today, no urinal symptoms. I went 4 months without any symptoms, then had a brief 1 week period of bladder and urethra stinging, and am now back to being symptom free. Pretty good, eh? You can get there too.
This is not medical advice, and I am NOT a doctor of medicine or a related field.
* Age:33 Onset: February 2004.
* 99.9% IMPROVEMENT in 2.5 Years with the first year being the really hard part
* Current Symptoms: Mild irritation of perineal muscles on occasion. Relieved for days at a time by a specific stretch (see below).
* Initial Symptoms: Terrible penile, urethral, rectal, and perineal burning/aching with addition afferent sensations.
* Current Treatments: Deep stretching of the legs and pelvis. Most effective: Deep psoas and levitar ani stretch using the first phase of the "pigeon pose" from Yoga. When a deep pulling is felt in the middle of the pelvis next to the upper rectum, symptoms are completely alleviated for several days.
* Past Treatments Hyperprotection of the perineum for 1.7 years, Walking, Rectal biofeedback, Stanford/Wise-Anderson Protocol, Conditioned deep relaxation practice, Men's Multi-Vitamin and an Extra B-complex pill, all seemed to help.
Great Post particularly Lightning's comments
You know I have been on good track for a few years at least regarding the anxiety / stress in my life. I think chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome hasnt hit me terribly hard because by the time it struck I was changing for the better in terms of mental health and problem / stress management. I think my chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome is my reminder of years (from adolescence to mid twenties) of low self esteem, negative thinking, perfectionism, anxiety & tension. Unfortunately my resolution of these things came too late but I'm not regretful - the way I abused by body albeit indirectly through my thoughts was bound to take effect over time. Thoughts and IBS which I never bothered to deal with (now my IBS is pretty much a distant memory), were my initiating factors plus a genetic predisposition obviously.
The man I am now compared to years back is so much stronger, less needy and more dependent on myself. Plus I'm easier with myself & dont look too far ahead. Plus I see that life should be laughed at more & that many people suffer. I realize (therapy has certainly helped) that life is tough enough without putting pressure on myself & constantly measuring up to others. I used to tighten my pelvic floor when angry, when holding in emotions, when anxious about public speaking, when nervous in social situations and more. Now I have dealt with these issues largely and consequently I am confidant that I can over time change my habit of pulling up those delicate muscles that most men dont even know are there!!
Take care
Greg
You know I have been on good track for a few years at least regarding the anxiety / stress in my life. I think chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome hasnt hit me terribly hard because by the time it struck I was changing for the better in terms of mental health and problem / stress management. I think my chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome is my reminder of years (from adolescence to mid twenties) of low self esteem, negative thinking, perfectionism, anxiety & tension. Unfortunately my resolution of these things came too late but I'm not regretful - the way I abused by body albeit indirectly through my thoughts was bound to take effect over time. Thoughts and IBS which I never bothered to deal with (now my IBS is pretty much a distant memory), were my initiating factors plus a genetic predisposition obviously.
The man I am now compared to years back is so much stronger, less needy and more dependent on myself. Plus I'm easier with myself & dont look too far ahead. Plus I see that life should be laughed at more & that many people suffer. I realize (therapy has certainly helped) that life is tough enough without putting pressure on myself & constantly measuring up to others. I used to tighten my pelvic floor when angry, when holding in emotions, when anxious about public speaking, when nervous in social situations and more. Now I have dealt with these issues largely and consequently I am confidant that I can over time change my habit of pulling up those delicate muscles that most men dont even know are there!!
Take care
Greg
Age: 29 | Onset Age: 26 | Symptoms: initially severe burning throughout pelvis - much better; muscles spasms all over region, back pain, chronic IBS (much better) | Helped By: Psychotherapy, SP stretches, swimming, accepting the condition (understanding there is treatment); stress/anxiety management; possibly basic quercetin; valerian root, vit B & calc & magn supplements; gluten avoidance & especially dealing with chronic constipation. | Worsened By: stress / anxiety, too much sex; repressed emotions; personality goodist traits. 80% better
Lightning and Greg, bravo to you both. Excellent posts which say it all 
I am not a medical doctor. Please fill out your signature (click here) ☼ ☼ My Starter List for new members
I encourage anxiety prone UCPPS people to consider L-Theanine
Age, 44 onset age 37 Feb 2006 Freq. need to urinate. Sensation of having to urinate soon after going. Perineum discomfort/burning/tightness, pubic area discomfort @ times,poor urine stream, post urine dripping/spray. All symptoms have improved with my protocol. At the worst I give it a 1 to 2 on irritation and discomfort and frequency. Helps: Elavil 5mg for anxiety and mast cell protection, (will only take it as needed) self internal PT as needed, stretching, walking, stairmaster cardio workout and light weights, reducing stress, moment to moment relaxation, deep breathing relaxation and using a Theracane. Makes worse: sitting for long periods, stress, over focusing on it. Currently 95%-98% recovered. Stay positive, relaxed and control your anxiety.
I encourage anxiety prone UCPPS people to consider L-Theanine
Age, 44 onset age 37 Feb 2006 Freq. need to urinate. Sensation of having to urinate soon after going. Perineum discomfort/burning/tightness, pubic area discomfort @ times,poor urine stream, post urine dripping/spray. All symptoms have improved with my protocol. At the worst I give it a 1 to 2 on irritation and discomfort and frequency. Helps: Elavil 5mg for anxiety and mast cell protection, (will only take it as needed) self internal PT as needed, stretching, walking, stairmaster cardio workout and light weights, reducing stress, moment to moment relaxation, deep breathing relaxation and using a Theracane. Makes worse: sitting for long periods, stress, over focusing on it. Currently 95%-98% recovered. Stay positive, relaxed and control your anxiety.
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LightningTree
- Sage
- Posts: 623
- Joined: Sat Jul 03, 2004 6:50 pm
- Location: San Francisco, CA, USA
- Contact:
THanks,
Now keep in mind, the ultimate cause of chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome is not know. But anxious and depressed people, particularly when both, seem awfully prone. Thinking about the muscles, nerves, rehabilitation, and such is a good way to treat the symptoms.
Now keep in mind, the ultimate cause of chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome is not know. But anxious and depressed people, particularly when both, seem awfully prone. Thinking about the muscles, nerves, rehabilitation, and such is a good way to treat the symptoms.
This is not medical advice, and I am NOT a doctor of medicine or a related field.
* Age:33 Onset: February 2004.
* 99.9% IMPROVEMENT in 2.5 Years with the first year being the really hard part
* Current Symptoms: Mild irritation of perineal muscles on occasion. Relieved for days at a time by a specific stretch (see below).
* Initial Symptoms: Terrible penile, urethral, rectal, and perineal burning/aching with addition afferent sensations.
* Current Treatments: Deep stretching of the legs and pelvis. Most effective: Deep psoas and levitar ani stretch using the first phase of the "pigeon pose" from Yoga. When a deep pulling is felt in the middle of the pelvis next to the upper rectum, symptoms are completely alleviated for several days.
* Past Treatments Hyperprotection of the perineum for 1.7 years, Walking, Rectal biofeedback, Stanford/Wise-Anderson Protocol, Conditioned deep relaxation practice, Men's Multi-Vitamin and an Extra B-complex pill, all seemed to help.