What Is Prostate Milking (and Does It Hurt)?

Massaging the prostate gland can alleviate groin pain and swelling and increase urine flow, according to some small case studies. Before modern approaches took over, it was even used as a treatment for erectile dysfunction. It was thought that clearing the prostatic duct—also known as a prostate milking—aided in the ability to achieve and maintain erections.

More about the prostate

About the size of a golf ball and located just below the bladder in men, the prostate creates a fluid that when mixed with sperm from the testicles and secretions from other glands helps prepare semen for final transport. Though you probably can't reach the prostate yourself (feel free to try), a doctor can find the gland quickly by poking a finger or two inside the rectum. Most men of a certain age will become very familiar with this practice during annual physicals.

Meanwhile prostate milking is a slightly less familiar practice during which a healthcare professional gently rubs this sensitive area from the inside with their fingers. This process helps to drain excess seminal fluid from the prostate, easing pressure build up in the ducts and alleviating swelling and inflammation, a condition known as prostatitis.

This form of prostate stimulation shouldn’t necessarily be painful for first timers, though it might not be comfortable, either. Anti-inflammatory drugs and antibiotics are a more likely first line of treatment for this painful condition, but studies show that prostate milking alongside medications and other treatments can reduce swelling and restore urine flow. And when done in the right way by the right partner, prostate milking can also be an arousing and relaxing experience that can help bring some men to stronger-than-normal orgasm when combined with penis play.

Exploring the depths of prostate milking

Colin Richards, a UK-based sex and intimacy counselor, stressed that the pleasure brought on through prostate massages is unique for every man but that orgasming from prostate stimulation alone is rare. According to a 2017 study in Clinical Anatomy, climaxing as a result of engaging in this practice is often more of a learned phenomenon once the brain’s pleasure receptors have been trained to respond to it more intensely each time.

“Pressing on the prostate gland can feel like you're about to pee,” said Richards, who's performed more than 5,000 prostate massages during his 15-year career. This sensation he explained is a form of slow masturbation, often with the aim of ejaculation at the end. It can create a pleasurable and even arousing feeling in some men, but it may not appeal to everyone.

Cis men typically visit Richards when they are ready to explore their sexuality or when they have sexual health issues including erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation or delayed orgasm. Often, they are “looking to learn and explore how to be better lovers for their partners.”

But ejaculating from a prostate massage alone isn't as strong as an ejaculation that includes penis stimulation. “It’s only going to be seminal fluid coming out and it may come out a lot slower because it’s not the same as having his penis pumped back and forth with the same pressure of manual penis masturbation or penetrative sex,” Richards said.

Ultimately, everyone’s experience with prostate stimulation will be different. From the type of pressure that’s applied and previous experience with prostate play to the context it occurs in, multiple factors combine to form a complex experience for each individual. For some, it will clear build up in the prostate and create a deep sense of wellbeing. For others, it becomes an exploration in sensuality and arousal.