Pelvic floor exercises are effective in treating lifelong premature ejaculation, a new study finds.

Premature ejaculation is the most common sexual disorder in men younger than 40 years.  According to estimates, 30 to 70 percent of men in the United States are affected by this disorder at some point in time of their lives. While there are a few treatments for premature ejaculation, some men don't respond to any of them.

A new study by Sapienza University of Rome researchers found that pelvic floor exercises are a very effective treatment for this sexual disorder.  The study was conducted on 40 men, aged between 19 and 46 years and suffering from PE. All the participants were trained to exercise their pelvic floor muscles over a 12 week period. Researchers also kept a record of their time-to-orgasm during this period.

At the start of the study researchers noted an average ejaculation time of 31.7 seconds. By the end of the 12 weeks, researchers found that this time increased to 146.2 seconds, which is nearly a 4 folds increase.

"This is a small study, so the effects need to be verified in a bigger trial. Nevertheless, the results are very positive. The rehabilitation exercises are easy to perform, with no reported adverse effects," Dr Antonio Pastore, lead author of the study said in a press statement. Previously the men in the trial had tried a variety of treatments, including creams, behavioral therapy, SSRIs and psychological treatments - with little success. However, we found that 33 of the 40 men in our trial improved their ejaculation time within 12 weeks. We also found that the fact that the men were able to improve their sex-lives through their own efforts helped their self-confidence.

 Pelvic floor exercises for treating PE have several other benefits over current medical treatments available today. These include lower costs and no side effects. Researchers said that this method can be considered as a therapeutic option for patients with premature ejaculation, though the exact exercises still need to be standardized.

"This is an interesting study. Premature ejaculation is a real problem for many men, and any way which we can find to help this condition is welcome," co-author Professor Carlo Bettocchi said. "This method particularly welcome because it is the sufferers themselves who overcome the problem through their own efforts - which will have additional psychological benefits".

Pelvic floor exercises are used to help men and women with incontinence problems, especially after some surgeries, including those for prostate cancer. The exercises had been previously tested for helping relieve temporary impotence, but this study marks the first time that they were used in tests over a longer period of time with men who had lifelong problems.

Thirty three out of the 40 participants benefited from pelvic floor exercises. Two men dropped out of the study and the remaining five showed no improvement.

Findings of the study were presented at the European Congress of Urology in Stockholm.