Do Kegels Work for Premature Ejaculation? The Clinical Evidence [CURRENT_MONTH_YEAR]

Yes – but not the way most people think. The most important finding from the research isn't that squeezing your pelvic floor helps you last longer. It's that learning to RELAX your pelvic floor during arousal is what actually gives you control.

Here's what the studies found.

The Key Study: Pastore et al. (2014)

Published in Therapeutic Advances in Urology, this study is the strongest clinical evidence for pelvic floor training and PE:

• Participants: 40 men with lifelong premature ejaculation (not acquired – these men had experienced PE their entire lives)
• Protocol: 12 weeks of structured pelvic floor rehabilitation including both standard kegels AND reverse kegels
• Results: Average ejaculatory latency increased from 31.7 seconds to 146.2 seconds – more than 4x longer
• Success rate: 82.5% showed significant improvement
• Key mechanism: The researchers specifically identified RELAXATION of the pelvic floor during arousal as the critical skill, not strength

The Follow-Up: Pastore et al. (2018)

Three years later, the same research group checked on a larger cohort:

• Participants: 122 men with lifelong PE
• Results: 90.2% initially improved, 56.8% maintained improvements at 3-year follow-up
• Key finding: Approximately 20 sessions of training were required before most men gained reliable control over the ejaculatory reflex

Why Relaxation Matters More Than Strength

This is the counterintuitive finding that most apps miss: PE isn't caused by a weak pelvic floor. A study by Lyu et al. (2025) found that men with PE have the SAME baseline pelvic floor strength as men without PE.

The issue isn't weakness – it's lack of control. Specifically, the inability to consciously relax the pelvic floor during arousal. When the pelvic floor stays tight during sex, it triggers the ejaculatory reflex earlier. Learning to release that tension – through reverse kegels – delays the reflex.

This is why apps that only teach standard kegels (squeeze and hold) often don't help with PE. They're strengthening a muscle that's already strong enough. What PE requires is the ability to switch between contraction and relaxation on command. (Learn how to do this in our complete exercise guide.)

Lifelong vs Acquired PE

Research (Lyu et al., 2025) found that acquired PE (developed at some point in life) responds better to pelvic floor training than lifelong PE. Both improve, but acquired PE typically improves faster and more dramatically.

If you've experienced PE your entire life, pelvic floor training can help – the Pastore study specifically enrolled lifelong PE patients and still saw 82% improvement. But setting realistic expectations and being patient through the 12-week training period is important.

What This Means for Choosing an App

Based on the evidence, a kegel app for PE should:

1. Include reverse kegels from Day 1 – not gated behind weeks of standard training. The relaxation skill is the most important one.
2. Use a PE-specific protocol – higher ratio of reverse kegels to standard kegels, reflecting what the research identified as the mechanism.
3. Support at least 12 weeks of progressive training – the full timeline the study used.

Kegel King is the only app we found that meets all three criteria. See our full comparison of the top kegel apps for details.