Articles

Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia
Hey Men, Let’s get personal…

How is your urinary stream or sexual function lately?

BPH, or Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia, is the diagnosis given to many men who suffer symptoms of urinary and sexual dysfunction. Simply stated, it is an enlargement of the prostate gland. The prostate is a large gland that surrounds the urethra, the tube that passes urine from the bladder to the tip of the penis. When it gets larger, it compresses the urethra and affects the flow of urine or semen. Benign means that there is no cancer and hyperplasia means that it, the prostate gland, is over grown. It is the most common non-malignant proliferative abnormality found in any organ of the body and the incidence of BPH rises from 23% in men at 40 years of age to 88% by the ninth decade.

Medical professionals believe that it is caused by several factors. One of these is age. A second growth spurt of the prostate occurs around middle age when hormonal levels change. A decrease in testosterone and an increase in estrogen levels occur about the same time. Other factors may include diet, exercise, level of sexual activity, race, exposure to toxins and general health. The World Health Organization reports it is more prevalent in men of Black, Caucasian and Jewish decent and less prevalent in Middle Eastern and Japanese men. They also report a dramatic decrease in death related to BPH in the last 12 years worldwide.

Fortunately, early detection and intervention has contributed to this decrease and to the successful resolution of symptoms for most men.

Symptoms of BPH, maybe one or a combination of some of these:

“Frequency” or a sense of needing to urinate more often or getting up at night to urinate.
A decrease in the strength and flow of the urine stream.
“Incontinence” or leaking after urination or with stress like coughing or sneezing.
Hesitancy starting a stream or retention of urine in the bladder.
Sexual dysfunction.

Over time, if left untreated, BPH can cause urine retention and strain and lead to problems like urinary tract infections, damage to the bladder or kidneys and incontinence. As these symptoms can also be indicative of more serious problems, men experiencing any of these symptoms need to have a physician check them to rule out or differentiate between benign or malignant pathologies. You and your doctor can then plot a course of treatment that is acceptable and appropriate.

Here at Hands On PT, we work with men to alleviate these symptoms and help you return to “pelvic” health. In cooperation with your physician, we can work with you in place of surgery, pre-surgically to give you the best chance for recovery, or post surgically to help you regain as much function as possible relative to urinary and sexual activities. Some of the treatment techniques we use are electrical stimulation for muscle re-education, biofeedback for education, internal and external pelvic floor tissue releases for high muscle tone or scars, teaching strengthening and stabilization exercises, and teaching self treatment techniques.

You don’t have to suffer with this. Make an appointment with your doctor and get personal!

Katrina Barton, PT

¹ The Endocrinology and Developmental Biology of the Prostate, Endocrine Reviews August 1987 vol. 8 no. 3 338-362

² BPH epidemiology and risk factors, Peter Ekman M.D., Supplement: Papers Presented at the Current Prespectives in Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia Meeting Held in London, September 17, 1988

Volume 15, Issue Supplement S2, pages 23–31, 1989