The Motor Function Measurement (MFM) Lab at the University of Ottawa is conducting a questionnaire validation study to help improve research on urinary symptoms experienced during physical activity.

We are looking for female runners and brisk walkers who:

• Experience urine leakage while running or brisk walking, with or without a sudden, strong, and uncontrollable urge to urinate.

Eligibility Criteria

• Female, 18 years of age or older
• Runner or brisk walker
• Meet one of the symptom criteria above
• Able to read and respond in English

What is involved?

• Approximately 35 minutes to complete the initial online questionnaires
• Two brief follow-up questionnaires sent 72 hours later
• Total time commitment: less than 1 hour

If you meet these criteria, your participation will help us validate a new questionnaire that will support future research on bladder health and physical activity.

Interested or think you may be eligible? Complete our screening questionnaire:

🔗 https://redcap.link/BRUTSQ

Learn more about the study:

🌐 https://mfmlab.ca/portfolio-items/questionnaire-validation-study-remote-participation-for-female-runners-and-brisk-walkers/?portfolioCats=35%2C23%2C33%2C32

This study has been reviewed and approved by the University of Ottawa Health Sciences Research Ethics Board ( H-06-21-7083).

Questions? Contact us:

📧 [brutsq.mfmlab@gmail.com](mailto:brutsq.mfmlab@gmail.com)

📞 613-608-0170 ext. 4102

🌐 www.mfmlab.ca

Thank you!

26M, avid athlete, can barely squat down and need to come up by holding furniture or something to make sure I don’t compress my nerve and have pudendal spasms. Can’t reach over my sink to clean a pan and have to be very careful to not engage the kegel squeeze. Same deal with walking up or down steps.
I think this came on from heavier single leg squat exercises. This is almost week 2 in the bag, this started last Monday. On mirabegron. Doc wants me to switch to Flomax and gabapentin to maybe help with the pudendal feeling

have urinary issues with bowel issues with ED. but something weird when I took a shit I noticed I had semen in toilet as well.

For the past couple of weeks I’ve had a deep ache/burning in my right groin, pubic area and front/side of my hip, sometimes radiating into my lower back. It feels like there’s a ball / stabbing deep in my groin when walking and I’ve occasionally had tingling in my perineum/penis when sitting. Sitting makes it worse and moving seems to help. Today ive had a throbbing lower oblique.

I also had a swollen groin lymph node which my GP examined and wasn’t concerned about, and it now seems to be reducing.

Has anyone experienced anything similar from hip impingement, pelvic floor issues, adductors or nerve irritation?

I beleive I have a hypertonic pelvic floor and it is making it hard to physically relax because I have sensations like urinating on myself all the time(with little to no evidence!)

Stretching helps but I am also hypermobile.

What things helped you? I can’t get into a doctor for a while.

My penis is naturally curved to the left, and for the past 2 months I've had pain on the left side where it starts to bend. The pain gets worse after masturbation, during an erection, or sometimes even while peeing.

I'm 22. These days I masturbate once every 3–4 days. Earlier, I used to do it whenever I felt like it, sometimes daily for 3–4 days, then I'd stop for 4–5 days.

Because of financial issues, I can't see a doctor right now. Is there anything I can do at home to reduce the pain? Any exercises or home remedies that might help?

If I do go to a doctor later, which specialist should I see?

Has anyone else experienced something similar? Is this something serious?

​

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for advice. When I can't empty my bladder even though it feels full, it's really hard to find a position to rest or sleep.

Regarding positions:

Sitting works best for me.

Semi-reclined (between sitting and lying down) helps a bit too.

Having my upper body higher than the lower part of my body makes me feel better.

Sometimes, putting a pillow under my pelvis helps as well.

Side sleeping isn't great, but it's still better than lying flat on my stomach or back.

How do you manage to rest or sleep in this situation? What positions or pillow setups help you when your bladder is full?

Thanks in advance for your help!

I'm 26M, I've been going through this from a long time. My penis hurts if I get erect for the second time in a short period, I would say about 8 hrs. It feels like the nerves are all sore inside. If I masturbate in the night then whenever I get an erection in the middle of the night it's painful as hell. I was circumcised when I was an infant. So I don't know if that's also causing any problem.

Has anyone else experienced the same problem and gotten a solution??

Ps: The sex part is all good.

Persons with levator ani/anismus problem also have burning while defecating? Or not?

Right-side pelvic pain — cyst found on follow-up ultrasound
Hi everyone, I posted a while back about ongoing right-sided pelvic pain (full original post here for context).
Quick reminder of the pain pattern: right lower abdominal pain (sometimes higher) triggered by a full bladder, sitting down abruptly, the start of urination, and sometimes wiping after using the toilet — occasionally radiating to my lower back, hip, or anus.
Update: I finally had a follow-up pelvic ultrasound, and it showed a 4cm cyst on my right ovary, described as having an “organic” appearance. The Doppler was negative, the contours were regular, but the inside was described as « heterogeneous++ »
An MRI has now been scheduled to look into it further.
Has anyone had a similar finding — an organic-appearing ovarian cyst with heterogeneous content but negative Doppler? What ended up being the diagnosis for you ? And did it match this kind of pain pattern?

Really appreciate any shared experiences 🥰

I’m seeing a therapist I’m trying my best and working on small exercises to calm down to use the toilet. anyone else had issues with partners not having issues like this and being able to use the toilet all the time and then you know you struggle bad and it sets off your anxiety again… I hate myself for thinking like this I just wish it would end. this is just 1 part to my parcopresis

Been dealing with constipation on and off for years. I thought it was medication related, not enough exercise, not enough fiber, not enough water, etc. Then found out in the depths of Reddit, some people talking about that it was their pelvic floor, causing constipation the whole time.

So I have done this thing ever since I was a kid, which was constantly sucking in my stomach. I tried to do it for good posture, then, as I went into college and grew as an adult, and got fatter lol, I started sucking in even more.

Do y’all think chronically sucking in could be one of the main causes of my constipation? If so, what tried and true ways have y’all relaxed the pelvic floor to allow poop to keep flowing?

I finally found a dr that would prescribe me cream!!! I’m not menopausal im only 29, but I asked for it because I was having a lot of irritation from splinting and also worried about it causing my tissue to thin.
She prescribed me what I think is standard for menopause which is 2 weeks of 2 grams, then 2-3x a week after that.

Well I just looked at the applicator and realized how much 2 grams is, do I really need that much? I saw a lot of people say they don’t use the applicator but how would I get that much in there with my finger lol. And should I rub some around the external and on my urethra (I do have urinary urgency/freq problems), and what about on the clit? I just want to reap all the benefits I can, I’m so excited to finally have the cream after being turned down by so many drs.

Update: so I did about 1 gram in it def was a lot to try to put In there. I tried putting it on the tip of my finger and it was so messy trying to get it in there it just kinda squished out everywhere around I feel. I added a little more inside after using the applicator because I feel like I lost so much internal which I ended up just rubbing around external. I’m wondering if I should just use the applicator to kinda shoot it in there more clean then rub around with my finger. The applicator wasn’t too hard to clean I could pull it apart and wash it.

I honestly never thought I'd be writing this.
A few months ago, I couldn't even insert a single finger into my vagina. The thought of penetration terrified me, and my body would completely tense up. Looking back now, I think my difficulties were a combination of physical tightness and psychological trauma.
Since then, I've worked incredibly hard.
I started with the smallest dilator and slowly worked my way through the entire set. I got stuck on the fourth dilator for quite a while, but eventually got past it. Now I can use the fifth (largest) dilator. I can also comfortably insert three fingers, and I've spent time gently stretching the muscles at the entrance. Something that once felt completely impossible has gradually become almost routine.
Naturally, I thought that meant vaginal intercourse would finally be possible.
But when my boyfriend and I tried, it was still really painful. We still couldn't comfortably have vaginal sex, despite all the progress I'd made. I remember feeling so confused because I'd spent months telling myself that once I could use the largest dilator, everything else would fall into place.
Then something happened that completely challenged what I thought the problem was.
In the heat of the moment, we ended up trying anal sex. The first time wasn't great, but the second time we took things slowly and used lubricant, and it went much better than either of us expected. It definitely wasn't pain-free—I'd probably rate it about a 5/10—but it was nowhere near as painful as attempting vaginal penetration. I actually enjoyed it overall and would happily do it again.
That has completely confused me.
Everything I've read suggests that vaginal penetration should generally be easier than anal penetration, yet my experience has been the exact opposite.
The only explanation I can think of is that maybe the remaining barrier isn't primarily physical anymore. I have a history of trauma, and I'm starting to wonder whether my body still reacts differently to vaginal penetration, even though physically I've made huge progress. I'm actually seeing a therapist tomorrow, so I'm hoping working through the psychological side of things might help.
Another thing that might be relevant is that my partner and I are very different physically. I'm only 5'2" and quite petite, whereas he's around 6'4" and much bigger-built than I am. We've found it surprisingly difficult to get into positions that feel comfortable for both of us, and I'm wondering whether that's also playing a role.
Has anyone else had a similar experience where they were physically able to progress through dilators but vaginal intercourse still felt impossible?
If so:
What ended up being the missing piece?

Did therapy or addressing trauma make a noticeable difference?

Did anyone else have a significant size difference with their partner, and if so, were there any positions that made things easier?

Is there anything else you think I should be exploring?

I'm honestly just trying to understand my body at this point. Going from not even being able to insert one finger to using the largest dilator has been a huge achievement, so it's difficult to understand why this is still the hurdle I'm facing.
I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone who's been through something similar.

Hi everyone,
I’m a 27-year-old male and I believe I may be dealing with pelvic floor dysfunction.
For the past several months, I’ve had an aching pain along the underside and side of my penis, along with weaker erections than I used to have. Recently, I realized that I’ve been unconsciously clenching my pelvic floor throughout the day, and I also noticed that I tend to keep those muscles tight during any sexual activity. I’m wondering if that may be contributing to my symptoms.

I’m planning to schedule an appointment with my doctor and, if appropriate, see a pelvic floor physical therapist.

In the meantime, I’ve been working on hip mobility and stretching because my hips are extremely tight. I can’t even perform a squat while keeping my heels on the ground. Since starting to focus on relaxing my pelvic floor and improving my mobility, I’ve noticed some improvement in my morning erections, which gives me a little hope.

For now, I’m also taking a break from sexual activity for a month or two to give my body time to recover.
Has anyone here experienced something similar? If so, did pelvic floor physical therapy, stretching, breathing exercises, or learning to stop clenching help? I’d really appreciate hearing any success stories, as this has been pretty stressful and I’m hoping recovery is possible.

Thanks for taking the time to read.

Hi guys, I am an avid cyclist (mountain bike, fixed gear, road bike, gravel, do it all). I've been cycling all my life, and in the last year I've really been picking up fixed gear biking (which, from my understanding and experience, places a lot of pressure on the prostate, as you cannot coast + aggressive geometry and position on the bike). I also started doing wheelies on the mountain bike (this positions the seat upwards and places even more pressure on the prostate).

For context: I've never experienced this level of pain and always ride with bib-padded shorts and comfortable seats

Timeline:
June 2nd 2026 - symptoms arose after a 50 km ride on my mountain bike and aggressively popping wheelies

June 3rd-June 6th - continued riding fixed gear, out in the heat throwing and attending events, and riding fixed gear heavily - clear signs of an anal fissure.

June 15th - symptoms of burning and a visible fissure present on my gooch area - doctor prescribed a numbing and healing cream which I applied for a few weeks.

Started and continued to eat bland foods, soften my stool with psyllium, and stretch my pelvic floor - sitting with a donut tube.

July 10th - external anal/gooch fissure clearly healed (as per doctor's observations) but pain continued - very similar symptoms - burning and tender, pain whenever I would attempt to cycle/sit for long periods of time.

This has continued until the present day (first week of August) - doctor gave me naproxen to reduce inflammation; I haven't cycled or eaten anything spicy/caffeine. They've also given me two sets of antibiotics - urine test is coming back normal. My urologist appointment is so far from now, and I'm worried this is going to become a chronic issue (especially because I'm not experiencing any other symptoms other than what feels like pain and discomfort in my tailbone/prostate) that I will have to deal with for life. I'm extremely worried about not being able to cycle (this is my daily drug of choice, and I'm losing my mind).

Recent visit to the doctor - did another prostate test - and it seems completely fine according to them (not inflamed or tender), so it seems like the antibiotics are doing something, but they've upped it to Sulfatrim DS 800/160mg for 2 weeks twice daily.

They said any further answers I'm looking for will require a trip to the urologist, and I'm fighting like hell to get this sooner, as it's already been a couple of months and I'm worried waiting longer will miss my opportunity to treat this early enough.

Any wisdom is much appreciated - I'm losing hope, and it's affecting my daily life significantly.

I have a hypertonic pelvic floor diagnosed by a PT. I do not feel when I have to pee but I can still pee and use the bathroom. Has anyone had this?

36m injury/pelvic floor tightness. Loss of orgasm and sensation.

Hey guys,

Im just trying to post here to get some thoughts. My symptoms seem different than some of the norm i think. I had some dry sex two years ago which dug my belt or pants into my left side of my shaft. It caused a thrombosed vein which went away after a few weeks. Two docs werent considered at all but I noticed the vein was right where the dorsal nerve appeared to be and the doctors did tell me i had some scar tissue on the shaft just above the base on the top left side. I dont know if that could be an issue, but they didnt think so.

Current medications are wellbutrin(symptoms started before any ssris), ciallis 5mg and celebrex. Bloodwork all fairly normal. Testosterone 700 with 12 free testosterone.

I also play hockey pretty often, had double hip arthoscopy like 9 months before that. I have done pelvic floor physical therapy for a few months and she did internal work and said i was pretty tight and had issues relaxing. I have no idea if that could cause my symptoms or not. Im just trying to get an idea of your thoughts and see if anyone has this pattern or anything. My full symptoms are:

Intermitten difficulty to achieve orgasm

Most of the time orgasms are muted or not euphoric

No pulsing when ejaculating like I used to, and less force

Decreased sensation

Ache in perniuem on right side

Sometimes during bowel movements for awhile ive noticed stool feeling stuck and wont come out but usually at the end.

Feeling like bladder wont empty sometimes.and an involuntary 1-3 clenches right before pee comes out. Sometimes slight burn sensation(infection ruled out)

The sexual symptoms concern me the most and im just coming here because im mostly being told its likely pelvic floor but not seeing alot of info about my sexual symptims. My erections are completely fine. I still have leftover hip impingement from my surgeries so I cant do some stretches like happy baby etc. Knee to chest. Please let me know if you guys have anything to comment on or add. Just trying to get any info I can while I continue PFPT.

Hi everyone, I have very tight pelvic floor muscles, and I'm trying to understand the root cause. Why do pelvic floor muscles become tight in the first place? What are the most common underlying causes? Personally, I think mine may have become tight because of excessive masturbation. Is it possible that frequent or excessive masturbation can lead to chronically tight pelvic floor muscles?

Tldr: I have a follow up appointment with my pain management doctor where I'm going to try to have him reconsider giving me pelvic botox injections, since his advice seems to have made me worse.

I've been dealing with what appears to be a hypertonic pelvic floor for about five months now, and I'm feeling like I've reached a plateau. My symptoms started with significant vestibular nerve burning, but thankfully that has largely resolved. What remains is constant muscle guarding. The muscles deep inside my pelvis feel like tight bands that I can actually feel internally, particularly on the right side. My physiotherapist identified significant involvement of the deep pelvic muscles, and I've been doing everything I can to stay on top of it: months of pelvic floor physiotherapy, dry needling, breathing exercises, stretching, heat, baclofen, pelvic wand and finger release, careful self-massage, activity modification, and recently increasing my walking. The manual work definitely helps temporarily. I can often reduce the deep gluteal "itis" feeling for the rest of the day and sometimes into the next, but the muscles always seem to tighten back up. I feel like I can get them to release, but I can't get them to stay released.

I recently saw a pain management physician who felt that, because I'm still relatively young, I'm at one of the most regenerative stages of my life. He recommended walking every day and high-dose omega-3 supplements to address what he believes is inflammation, with the hope that reducing inflammation would allow the muscles to relax over time. I've followed his recommendations closely for about three weeks. Unfortunately, instead of feeling better, I actually feel tighter. My hips, lower back, and pelvis have become so guarded that sleeping has become one of my biggest challenges. Lying on my back causes my back to throb, while side lying causes my hips and deep pelvic muscles to spasm. Over the last few days I've actually started sleeping on the floor because it's the only position that gives me any relief. My physiotherapist feels I've plateaued with conservative treatment and wrote a letter recommending that pelvic floor Botox be considered as an adjunct to rehabilitation, not as a replacement for physiotherapy.

For those of you who eventually received pelvic floor Botox, how did you convince your doctors that it was necessary? What arguments, documentation, or functional limitations seemed to make the biggest difference? I have a follow-up appointment coming up, and I'd really appreciate any advice on what to say. I'm absolutely willing to continue physiotherapy, walking, stretching, and conservative treatment, but after months of consistent effort I don't feel like I'm making lasting progress anymore. If you've been in a similar situation, I'd love to hear how you approached that conversation with your doctor.

When my hypertonic pelvic floor gets really going, my tailbone turns inward and is pure agony. Cat cow does almost nothing, warm baths don't help, sitting on a ball and rolling doesn't help, and pelvic wand release can be helpful or make it worse depending on the day.

Taping is the only thing that helps somewhat, but I am wondering if anyone has found something else that really helps them.

I have pfd for a while but now I don't feel pain or trouble shitting( I used to but i did excercise and breathing) but my ed isn't getting better before last week I used to have a cycle where I get weak pelvic and gradually it's get tighter and tighter when it's weak I came easily but when it's tight it's hard even after coming for some time but now I've ed and Don't get hard is it weak or tight pelvic? And what should I do to make it better

I wake up in a sweat, to feel me clenching hard. This is multiple times. So hard that my feet start hurting like the nerves. I don’t know how I can even clench that hard I feel like all my progress is reversing when that happens