Physical Therapy after Surgery

DaveInAZ

Hi Folks. I have seen a few posts mentioning physical therapy (PT) after surgery to help with incontinence. I am 5 months post op and I still need to wear shields to help with those annoying leaks that happen from time to time (last night I had a rather aggressive sneezing attack which was not fun). I do the Kegal exercises daily, but I am curious about the PT and if it might help me get to the point where I do not have to worry about the leaks anymore, if anyone has had success with it, and maybe what it involves. I see my urologist again in a few weeks and might want to ask about it.

Thanks

Dave

Marlon

I am at five months. I had PT for two months and it helped a lot. It was all about doing exercises that strengthen your abdominal core which kegels alone doesnt address. Honestly, I might have gotten better on my own, but I do think it was faster with PT. That being said, I still use pads and shields for confidence even if mostly dry. The risk of a leak is lower but the consequences are too high to go without.

But here's something to consider. I asked my PT about the long-term. As she pointed out, as you get older, your natural strength and resilience weaken, and you can have continence issues just from aging. So she pointed out that it's best to continue doing pelvic exercises indefinitely, even if you reach your goal.

HerndonBoy

Same here. I am 4 months out, but not yet dry. PT started 3 weeks after surgery. Therapist concentrated on exercises to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles. The program is now working on the core muscles. The idea, if I understand it, is to build up the muscles in the abdomen so they can take some of the pressure off the bladder. PT said some men may take a year to regain continence. He said PT can take several months off that one year. It’s a work in progress and I can feel some improvements so far.

PT is more or less weekly. And there are plenty of exercises to do at home. Recommended.

DaveInAZ

Thanks folks for the replies so far, very helpful.

Dave

LuckyKYGuy

Seven weeks out here and have been doing Kegels since week 5 after first appointment with PT. Second appointment was a week ago and she added the “core strengthening” exercises. So far I’ve not seen much improvement but she told me that I’d likely see significant improvement between now and my next visit with her in January. We will see.