A new study shows men with an overactive bladder may benefit from pelvic floor exercises long known to help women plagued by the problem.

And the exercises worked as well as medications, researchers found.

"Behavioral treatment is just as effective as drug treatment in males with an overactive bladder, and that's big," says Dr Jason M. Hafron, a urologist at the William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan, who wasn't involved in the new work.

"It's safer, cheaper and it's effective. This study will increase awareness that exercise is an option."

People with an overactive bladder experience a strong, sudden urge to urinate that may lead to incontinence. There are several behavioral changes that can make coping easier, but often drugs are prescribed, too.