Physiotherapy | 5 reasons why Men Should Care

Why Physiotherapy is Important for Men

Sex, a tight physique, peak athletic performance, confidence, and overall feeling good about yourself and how you look. Okay, now that I have your attention, let’s break this down a bit, shall we?

How practical is physiotherapy?

It is a well-known fact that when you look good and feel good, that has a ripple effect that will positively affect numerous other aspects of your life. Many men associate getting to that point with working out. While they’re not incorrect, as a solid gym routine helps, it is common for men to plateau in the gym and stop seeing physique improvements or muscle growth. Why? The simple answer is that they’re continuously doing the same exercises on a rotating schedule with not much change or diversity in the types of exercises or modes of weight training.

This can be discouraging and may even cause some men to give up on the gym. Luckily, there is a solution to this problem – physiotherapy. Physiotherapy has been widely known primarily for injury rehabilitation and prevention, especially when it comes to the potential of surgery in the future. However, it encompasses so much more than that and has very beneficial effects on men specifically. There are countless different ways in which physiotherapists can help maximize athletic performance, increase endurance/stamina, improve sex life, enhance physique, boost your mobility/movement, and in general, improve overall confidence and swagger.

Let’s dive in deeper, yes?

1. Maximizing Athletic Performance

As stated above, it is common for a plateau to occur with the same old routine day in and day out. To avoid this, you may consider visiting a sports therapist – a certified physiotherapist who will assist you in finding new ways to engage your muscles with a variety of mode deliveries. These include, but are not limited to, resistance bands, dumbbells, bodyweight exercises, sport-specific training, and so much more. This in turn will provide you with the education required to break your plateau and create an even more effective and efficient workout routine with phenomenal results!

2. Increase Endurance/Stamina

Typically, when you go see a physiotherapist, you are given an at-home exercise program to perform on your own time. In addition, both during your appointments and on your own time, you will likely be given some sort of cross-training in the form of walking, running, swimming, or biking. This at-home program will be individualized – by that I mean it will differ in intensity and duration based on your personal goals and current fitness level – and will in return, challenge and improve your overall endurance/stamina!

3. Improve Sex Life

I know what you’re thinking – how the hell would seeing a physiotherapist help improve my sex life, and more importantly, isn’t that awkward and embarrassing? To tell you the truth, there are pelvic physiotherapists for this specific reason.

Your pelvic floor muscles are primarily responsible for tightening and relaxing the bladder/anus muscles to enable continence, as well as ejaculation and proper erectile function. Unfortunately, anything from daily stress to trauma to injury to bad posture can hurt your pelvic floor, resulting in symptoms such as incontinence, pain with sex, or even erectile dysfunction.

The good news is that there are certain exercises/stretches you can do to prevent these negative effects, and a pelvic physiotherapist is a person who can provide you with them. So long story short, a pelvic physiotherapist really CAN improve your sex life. Crazy, huh?

4. Enhance Physique

We’ve all heard of testosterone (or at least I would hope you, as a man, have). To sum it up, essentially testosterone is the male sex hormone associated with sex drive, energy levels, and mental health, just to name a few. Pretty important, yes? Well, testosterone is also primarily responsible for muscle mass, meaning that low levels of testosterone can result in weight gain, fat gain, and loss of definition.

That’s where physiotherapy comes in – physiotherapists can help you get back into the gym or into a solid workout routine to maintain proper levels of testosterone, avoid these not-so-fun effects, and positively influence your overall quality of life.

5. Boost Mobility/Movement

Nowadays, it’s not uncommon for us to skip our warm-up or cool-down when partaking in a workout. This can result in overly tight muscles which leads to a limited range of motion and decreased flexibility. Again, a physiotherapist comes into play here – one of the main benefits of physiotherapy is increasing your overall mobility via specific stretches/exercises so you’re not restricted in any plane of motion or any movement pattern.

This can apply to someone recovering from an injury, someone who just hasn’t stretched in years and whose muscles now feel rigid or stiff, or someone who just wants the education on how to properly prepare for and finish off a workout. In any case, a physiotherapist is a person to see if your independence or functionality is being threatened by tight muscles!

5. Improve Overall Confidence and Swagger

This comes along with everything we’ve already discussed above – as you start to feel the positive impact of physiotherapy on your overall quality of life, you will undoubtedly begin to see a boost in your confidence and swagger! Enjoy it, man!

Now that I’ve blown your mind with all the reasons you, as a man, will benefit from physiotherapy regardless of your situation, I have one last little secret to let you in on: Embrace it! Seeking help does not make you weak, nor does it make you a loser. It makes you more attractive and appealing to women because you’re not afraid to show weakness or admit it when you need some advice or assistance. Trust me boys, women love to see you taking care of yourself!