Table Of ContentPRAISE
Dr. Susie Gronski’s book Pelvic Pain: The Ultimate Cock Block is a must-read if you suffer from
pelvic pain or have pelvic floor issues. Much like the way she talks when treating people, her
communication style is down to earth and she makes sure you ‘get it.’ And she really knows her shit!
Above all, her message is one of hope and resilience. Buy this book!
Steve Jellerson
Staunton, VA
In a factual yet humorous way, Dr. Susie Gronski’s Pelvic Pain: The Ultimate Cock Block provides
both answers and solutions towards regaining your manpower. Covering all bases, she perfectly pitches
all you need to know about male anatomy, pain science, brain training, sexual function, exercise and
treatment options. Written in a language style that every man and his partner will relate to, I cannot
more highly recommend this text. So, if you’ve got a spare hour or two, be kind to yourself! You’ll find
there’s a toolbox of skills to help regain your pride and your passion… and an end to the ‘cock block’
in your jocks! Hey—it may just be the best investment you’ll ever make! Prost!
Jo Milios,
men’s health physiotherapist, Western Australia
www.menshealthphysiotherapy.com.au
Pelvic Pain: The Ultimate Cock Block by Dr. Susie Gronski is an expertly written book on male pelvic
pain conditions, including chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS) and chronic prostatitis (CP). It is a
must-read for patients (and their partners) wanting to take control of their symptoms and their recovery.
This honest and open guide offers a window into Susie’s highly reputable approach to male pelvic pain,
balancing hard science, humour and very practical, easy-to-implement self-care techniques. This
beautifully illustrated upfront self-help guide is the book for patients who wish to be the driver in their
recovery, not just a passenger.
Karl Monahan,
founder of The Pelvic Pain Clinic in London,
a clinic solely dedicated to the treatment of
male pelvic pain conditions
www.thepelvicpainclinic.co.uk
Dr. Susie Gronski, a gifted physical therapist, has written a groundbreaking book on male pelvic pain.
Pelvic Pain: The Ultimate Cock Block is a user-friendly guide that helps men understand why they have
pain and what to do about it. Male pelvic pain is a forgotten piece of our healthcare puzzle, and Dr.
Gronski brings it back to life in an easy-to-read manual that every man experiencing pelvic pain should
have on his bookshelf. I really enjoyed Dr. Gronski’s writing style, and the exercises with illustrations
presented are so easy to follow. If you’re a guy suffering from pelvic pain, don’t hesitate to pick up a
copy and begin your journey to becoming pain-free!
Dr. Nikolas Hedberg,
author of The Complete Thyroid Health & Diet Guide
www.drhedberg.com
After far too many excruciating months of pain and discomfort in my nether regions and no answers
(but plenty of unnecessary pain and frustration from the traditional group of medical specialists), I feel
blessed to have found Dr. Susie Gronski on the internet. She literally saved my life as she guided me on
a path to heal myself from pelvic pain. Dr. Susie is nothing short of amazing! She has what most
doctors today sorely lack… great compassion, accessibility, knowledge, humor, and gentle care for her
patients. Dr. Susie Gronski is the real deal! Run, don’t walk to her special approach to healing. She is
the gold standard for doctor-patient care!
Bruce Lecure
Professor Emeritus, University of Miami
Dr. Susie Gronski’s book Pelvic Pain: The Ultimate Cock Block is a must-read for any man
experiencing pelvic pain. It is well-written, insightful and full of practical advice. For those men who
have been baffled by what’s going on down below, this book goes a long way in helping to normalize
the experience. We’re not nuts after all! Thanks, Dr. G!
Dan P., Glen Mills, PA
Thank you, Susie, for all of your hard work putting this hilariously helpful resource together and
striving to make sure it contains the best, most up-to-date evidence. This book is a brilliant resource for
anyone who has ever had pain, with a few frank and beans jokes thrown in for fun.
Katelyn Fritz, PT, MPT
I’m a male in my late 50’s who began experiencing an ache in what felt like the bottom of my being
which intensified after sexual activity. Over about eight months, it worsened. Neither my MD nor a
urologist had any specific ideas for relief. I suffered physically and doubted my viability going forward
until I got a newsletter from my doctor introducing me to Dr. Susie’s practice.
It would be difficult to overstate how helpful Dr. Susie was from the time I made contact with her to
after only our third session. By that time, the ache had largely disappeared, and I was able to be
sexually active without pain. I now have techniques and a way of understanding and managing so the
ache is either non-existent or a relatively minor and temporary inconvenience.
I highly recommend seeing Dr. Susie for any and all male issues in the nether regions.
Anonymous, USA
First published in 2017
Second edition 2020
Copyright © 2017, 2020 by Susie Gronski
Cover design and typesetting by Stewart A. Williams
Interior illustrations by Weronika Zubek at TwoEasels
Front cover photo: © Juan Moyano / Stocksy United
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any
form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods,
without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in
critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission
requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the address below.
Dr. Susie Gronski, Inc.
56 Central Avenue, Suite 103
Asheville, NC 28801
drsusieg.com
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data
Library of Congress Control Number: 2020909308
Gronski, Susie, 1985-
Pelvic Pain The Ultimate Cock Block: A no-bullshit guide for men navigating through pelvic pain /
Susie Gronski cm.
Includes bibliographical references
ISBN 978-0-9986957-2-3 (paperback)
ISBN 978-0-9986957-3-0 (e-book)
ISBN 978-0-9986957-4-7 (audio)
DISCLAIMER
This information is provided for educational and informational purposes only. It is provided to educate
you about pelvic health and wellness as a self-help tool for your own use. It is not intended to be a
substitute for professional diagnosis or treatment. This information is to be used at your own risk,
based on your own judgment. For the author’s full disclaimer, please go to drsusieg.com/disclaimer.
AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE
From time to time, the author may promote, affiliate with, or partner with other individuals or
businesses whose programs, products and services align with her own. The author is highly selective
and only promotes partners whose programs, products and/or services she respects. In the spirit of
transparency, please be aware that there may be instances when this book promotes, markets, shares or
sells programs, products or services for other partners and in exchange the author may receive financial
compensation or other rewards. For the author’s full affiliate disclosure, please go to
drsusieg.com/disclaimer.
DEDICATION
For the men who have been told they ‘just have to live with it’ for the rest of
their lives.
FOREWORD
In 2016, I had never heard of pelvic floor physical therapy. Like many guys,
perhaps most, my limited discussions about male pelvic pain or prostate
issues came from cringeworthy stories, jokes, or very brief descriptions of
someone else’s cancer surgery. So, when my urologist told me a pelvic floor
physical therapist (PFPT) might be able to help me recover after my second
prostate surgery in three weeks, my response was equal parts confusion and
skepticism. The urologist gave me a couple of recommendations, but
suggested I do some research to find out more about what was involved. That
research opened my eyes to an incredible service gap for men suffering from
pelvic pain and eventually led me to Dr. Susie Gronski.
I live in Houston, fourth-largest city in the US, home to a booming
economy and world-renowned medical center with experts of every kind. If
you had asked me if I thought I would have trouble finding a physical
therapist nearby, I would have told you there are probably more physical
therapists within a five-mile radius of my home than there are restaurants.
And there are restaurants everywhere. I assumed finding a PFPT would be
easy. I was wrong.
What I found was that – in Houston, at least – most men who are referred
to PFPTs are referred after prostate removal, usually due to cancer, and those
physical therapy treatments are typically short-term. The primary goal is
usually to help regain continence. One physical therapist told me she
typically only needs one or two sessions to treat her patients and never needs
to do an exam. She just talks them through a Kegel or two, and they’re happy
to be finished with the process. The fact that I didn’t have cancer but was still
being referred for treatment was clearly confusing to her. She said she had
never had a patient like that before.
Along the way, I talked with another physical therapist who had recently
moved out of the Houston area. She resonated with the lack of men’s pelvic
health awareness and practitioners not only in Houston but nationwide. She
was the one who recommended I read this book. “It has a rather provocative
title,” she said with a chuckle, “so it should be easy to find.” She described
Dr. Gronski as “a wonderful human being,” and said the book was an
excellent resource for treating pelvic pain. I ordered the book immediately,
read it, and agreed with her assessment on both counts. The book is packed
with information, but is, at the same time, funny and straightforward,
practical and direct. As I read, I felt like I finally had some hope and was
beginning to understand the ‘why’ behind my pelvic pain.
Eventually, I found a PFPT in Houston and began treatments, but my
situation was complicated. In the end, I had a total of three prostate surgeries
and a hip surgery within a 10-month period. My doctors were proficient and
caring, but they were still recommending three more surgeries to address the
ongoing pain and spasms I was experiencing.
Desperate for an alternative to more surgeries, I made my way to
Asheville, 1,000 miles from Houston, for a six-day intensive with Dr. Susie.
That trip was life-changing. She is, in person, what you would expect from
reading her book. Knowledgeable, skilled, funny, compassionate. She not
only gave me hope, but I left Asheville pain-free for the first time in more
than a year. Dr. Susie taught me how to know what my brain was and wasn’t
telling me when I experienced pain and how to reframe the way I responded
to my body’s protective alerts. I returned to Houston armed with the tools I
needed to recover and was able to avoid surgeries five, six, and seven.
Dr. Gronski’s work is paving the way for men to have the freedom and the
space to talk about their pelvic health struggles without pretense, judgment,
or shame. Whether you are reading this book at the beginning of your journey
or looking for help because it seems like no one else is listening, you are in
the right place. This book helps demystify pelvic pain and provides real
solutions for treatment and recovery. I, for one, am immensely grateful to
have found it and its author, Dr. Susie G.
Steve Johnson
Houston, TX
CONTENTS
Introduction
Chapter 1: What Pelvic Pain Is… and What It’s Not
Chapter 2: The Lowdown Down Below
Chapter 3: Got Your Body On The Brain
Chapter 4: Making Your Mind Up
Chapter 5: All Systems Go
Chapter 6: The Nuts and Bolts of Treating Pelvic Pain
Chapter 7: Pleasure-Hunting
Chapter 8: The Power of Touch
Chapter 9: Don’t Give Up!
About the Author
Glossary
References
INTRODUCTION
You woke up one morning expecting a hard-on, but instead all you felt was
dick pain. You thought maybe it was a weird sex position or that sports injury
from the other day. No biggie, it’ll go away, you told yourself. Or maybe you
had no clue how it happened but you were sure it would sort itself out
eventually.
Now you’re not so sure…
Years later, you’re still dealing with the same nightmare and have no
answers. You’ve tried everything but the medications haven’t worked, and
the doctors don’t know what else to do. Your penis just doesn’t work the
same anymore. You think about it all the time, freaked out that there’s
something else more serious going on that the docs just haven’t found yet.
Did I hit the nail on the head?
Who am I to help?
You’re probably thinking to yourself, But you’re a chick. What do you know
about having penis pain? And you’re right. I don’t have a penis. But here’s a
knowledge nugget for you… Even though our private parts look and are
organized differently, they still work in a similar way.
To be honest, as a licensed doctor of physical therapy, certified pelvic
rehabilitation practitioner, and long-time teacher of health programs that help
men with pelvic pain become experts in treating themselves, I’m simply fed
up with the lack of care that guys get going the traditional medical route. I’ve
seen too many of you walk into my office – indeed, people reaching out from
all over the globe, from Europe to Australia, Asia to South America –
complaining of pelvic pain that’s been wreaking havoc in your life for years.
It’s not necessary.
