If you suffer from prostatitis, you're not alone, as some 50 percent of men experience prostatitis symptoms at some point in their adult life, according to a 1996 report in the journal "Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases." This painful condition may not make you feel like exercising, but certain types of physical activity can actually help you feel better, notes MayoClinic.com.
Identification
The prostate is a walnut-sized gland that makes the sperm-containing fluid semen. As men get older, it can become enlarged and even cancerous. Prostatitis is a group of disorders affecting the prostate that all have similar symptoms, including painful, difficult or frequent urination, pain in your lower abdomen, bac or genital and rectal areas, and sexual difficulties. It's caused by bacteria, injuries, stress or disorders of the immune or nervous systems, among other factors.
Benefits of Exercise
Researchers in Florence, Italy, separated men with chronic prostatitis into either a regular aerobic exercise group or a placebo group who only did stretching or movement exercises. The results, published in the "The Journal of Urology" in January 2007, showed there were significantly greater improvements in the aerobics group for chronic prostatitis symptom scores, quality of life measures and pain scores. Aerobics isn't the only type of exercise than can help. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, kegel exercises, where you tighten and relax your pelvic floor muscles, can help reduce some of the urinary symptoms.
Disadvantages
Certain forms of exercise may make your symptoms worse, especially those that place pressure in your prostate area, such as horseback-riding and cycling. A meta-review of studies looking at the relationship between prostatitis, cycling and similar sports, published in the April-May 2010 issue of "Urologia," concluded that any sport that causes either compression of your pubic area, or hip flexion, such as climbing, squatting and cycling, can provoke or worsen urogenital pain or pelvic pain, and should therefore be avoided.
Considerations
Prostatitis shares symptoms with other diseases that affect male sex organs or the urinary tract. That's why MayoClinic.com recommends to contact your health care provider if you have pelvic pain, difficult or painful urination, or painful ejaculations, to rule out other conditions. Although physical activity may help improve prostatitis symptoms, it isn't necessarily a cure, and you may require medication.
References
- Mayo Clinic: Prostatis
- "Journal of Urology"; Physical activity of men with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome...; G. Giubieli, et al.; January 2007
- "Urologia"; Prostatitis syndromes and sporting activities; E. Sacco, et al.; April-May 2010
- University of Maryland Health Center: Prostatis
- "Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases"; Prostatitis Syndromes; February 1996
