There is an opinion that physical exercise for prostatitis can have a positive effect on a man’s health - is this true?Indeed, gymnastics has been used in medicine for a long time to treat a variety of ailments, including prostatitis.Naturally, physical activity is not useful in all cases of prostatitis - there are forms of the disease in which treatment with physical exercise is strictly contraindicated.But the benefits of prescribing therapeutic exercises to a man with prostatitis cannot be canceled.Physical therapy is a simple, economical, affordable and effective cure for this disease.
About prostatitis
Before treating prostatitis with gymnastic exercises, you need to know the features of this disease.Possession of the necessary information will allow you to effectively treat the disease with physical exercise, as well as avoid the use of physical therapy (physical therapy) in cases where it can be harmful.
Prostate
Prostatitis is inflammation of the prostate gland (prostate).This organ plays an important role in a man’s sexual life, synthesizing the hormone “dihydrotestosterone”, which makes attraction to the weaker sex and erection of the penis possible.The prostate produces a secretion that, when mixed with semen, makes it liquid and capable of passage through the urethra.This secret also affects sperm, making them mobile, vigorous, and viable.
The prostate is located below the bladder, attached to the ureter.The secretion produced by the organ enters the urethra through communicating ducts.When the prostate becomes inflamed, its tissues expand and compress the ureter from the sides - this impairs the patency of the urethra.Problem with urination is the most characteristic sign of prostatitis.To this must be added the symptoms of intense pain in the pelvic area and impotence.
Types of prostatitis
Inflammation of the prostate gland can occur due to congestion in the pelvic area and penetration of an infectious agent into the prostate tissue.A rarer cause of inflammation is the onset of oncological processes, both benign (prostate adenoma) and malignant (prostate cancer).Thus, depending on the cause that caused the inflammation, prostatitis is divided into the following types:
- stagnant;
- infectious;
- hyperplasiogenic.
Causes of the disease
Prostatitis is a disease that a man can rarely avoid during his lifetime.The disease is an age-related disease - it affects mainly middle-aged and elderly men, but recently young people are also increasingly beginning to get sick.Why is this so?
The present time is an era of a sedentary lifestyle.This fact is striking given the powerful dynamics demonstrated by modernity - people work multiple jobs, managing to accomplish dozens of different things in a day.But when you delve deeper into what is happening, it becomes clear: out of three jobs, two are freelancing, which is done at home on the computer;you don’t have to walk if you have a car;food can be ordered online and delivered to your home.Thus, men, despite all possible activity, are sedentary.
Physical inactivity is the cause of poor blood circulation in the body.Like any other hydrodynamic system, the circulatory system needs dynamic circulation.Let us explain by analogy with the operation of a mechanical wristwatch with a winding function.If the watch is in a static position, the winding will not work - only under the condition of dynamic influence.And the circulatory system functions normally only when a person moves.
The permanent posture of a freelancer, vehicle driver, or office worker is in a sitting position.Our body is adapted to sitting; the gluteal muscles help a person in this, they can level the pressure on the circulatory system of the pelvis for a long time.But prolonged sitting tires the muscles, causing long-term compression syndrome - a pathological phenomenon that is detrimental to men's health.The more a man weighs, the shorter the shock-absorbing function of the buttocks becomes - obese men are more susceptible to prostatitis than thin men.
Another problem is bad habits.Statistics say that the average office worker smokes half a pack of cigarettes and drinks 2-4 glasses of coffee per day, and in the evening prefers beer and computer games.Coffee and beer are drinks that are very harmful to the prostate; add to this smoking and prolonged sitting and we get a high probability of developing prostatitis.
To summarize the above, we will name three main reasons for the occurrence of prostatitis in young men of the modern era:
- physical inactivity;
- prolonged sitting;
- bad habits.
Important!Treatment of prostatitis with the help of gymnastic training is a solution for many men who prefer to lead a sedentary lifestyle.The ability to cure an illness by briefly taking time off from the computer at home is exactly what suits the modern person.
Therapeutic exercise in the treatment of prostatitis
Physical therapy for prostatitis has been used for a long time and successfully in various therapeutic cultural traditions - Greek (gymnastics), Chinese (kung fu), Indian (yoga), Anglo-Saxon (aerobics, fitness, fitball).Exercise therapy for prostatitis shows good results; it is ideal for treating prostatitis at home, becoming an excellent therapy for men.
About the effect of therapeutic exercises on the male body
Physical activity circulates blood throughout the body, nourishing the tissues with the substances they need.A man who performs special exercises against prostatitis can ensure that congestion in the pelvic area stops, dead cells are washed out by the bloodstream, prostate tissue is renewed, and inflammation goes away.In addition, training will strengthen the body.Thus, gymnastic exercises will not only cure prostatitis, but will also help improve a man’s health.However, exercise therapy cannot be used unconditionally in all cases of the disease.Let's look at the list of contraindications for the use of physical exercises for men with prostate diseases.
General contraindications for the use of physical exercise:
- Gymnastics cannot treat prostatitis if it is in the acute stage.Prostate tissue at the acute stage of inflammation becomes vulnerable to dynamic effects and can be damaged.An exacerbation causes severe pain, exercise further intensifies it, making physical exercise torture.
- You cannot practice sports activities that involve sitting - this is a harmful exercise for prostatitis; exercises for prostatitis of this type should be avoided.This could be cycling, some poses for pumping up the abs.
- Exercises for the treatment of prostatitis should not be practiced by men who have high blood pressure or heart problems;who have recently undergone surgery suffer from an inguinal hernia.
- Some experts consider gymnastics harmful for infectious and oncological forms of prostatitis.This opinion is debatable, there is no clear recommendation.
Before treating prostatitis with gymnastics, it is important to consult a therapist.The attending physician must be aware of the patient’s decisions - this is the person who can authoritatively assess the possible benefits and harms of exercise therapy in each specific case.
Exercises for prostatitis
Regular exercise for prostatitis can seriously alleviate the patient’s condition, provided that he does everything correctly.And so that there is no doubt left, let’s look at what exercises you can do.
Classical therapeutic gymnastics
Traditional therapeutic exercises for prostatitis appeared during the times of the ancient Greeks.The founder of this type of gymnastics was the doctor Herodicus, who was a very extraordinary person: seriously ill with a “disease affecting the respiratory system,” he promoted in Greece a set of exercises that could put any patient on his feet.He was a very famous healer - the philosopher Plato wrote about him with delight.Gymnastics by Herodicus were used to treat many diseases, including prostatitis.The discipline, founded by a doctor, became the prototype of modern exercise therapy.Herodicus's exercises have come down to us in pictures depicted on amphorae and frescoes.Among them are those that are recommended by modern andrology for the treatment of prostatitis:
- Standing hip raise.A man in a standing position, keeping his back straight, alternately raises his thigh parallel to the floor.The position of the back should not change while performing the task.
- Lying hip raise.The patient, in a supine position, brings the hips together and raises them perpendicular to the axis of the floor.When performing a task, your back should remain on the floor without leaving it.
- Squat.The patient holds his arms in front of him parallel to the floor and squats so that the sacrum almost touches the floor.Hands maintain position while performing a task.You can't lift your heels off the ground!
- Lifting the buttocks off the floor.The patient, resting his elbows and feet on the floor, arches upward, lifting his buttocks off the ground.
- Scissors while lying on your back.A man in a lying position raises his legs 45 degrees from the floor and begins to cross them, alternately changing the position of each leg relative to the floor - first one lower, then the other.You cannot lift your back and the back of your head off the floor!
- Scissors while lying on your stomach.The exercise is done similarly to ordinary scissors, only the position of the patient changes - he lies on his stomach.
- Bike.A man, lying on his back, raises his legs 45 degrees and pedals an imaginary bicycle in the air.
The exercises we have listed are simple and do not require special physical training; any man can perform them.There is a high probability that the exercises will not be performed flawlessly right away.It is important to understand what is right and strive for it.
Attention!When carrying out physical exercises for prostatitis, it is advisable to warm up - jumping, clapping your hands, shaking your body and limbs, running in place.The exercises are done 10 times in 3 approaches, starting with 5 times in 1 approach.The load is increased every 2 or 3 weeks until the recommended number of executions and approaches is reached.
Yoga
Training according to the canons of ancient Indian gymnastics is not suitable for every man.It is important to have at least some physical skills in order to treat prostatitis by performing therapeutic yoga tasks.
The advantage of yoga is its extreme popularity in modern society; there is a lot of educational material on the Internet - videos, books.With this in mind, we will recommend some exercises from this discipline that can help a man in the fight against prostatitis:
- surya namaskar (set of morning exercises);
- Chandra Namaskar (set of evening exercises);
- kapalabgati (abdominal breathing technique);
- “lotus” asana with heel inversion into the groin area;
- “Makarasana” asana (relaxation pose) – from 15 minutes to an hour;
- “Viparita Karani” asana (birch tree pose);
- Ashwini mudra (controlled contraction of the anal muscles).
All recommended exercises should be performed under the supervision of a yoga trainer.The order of the poses is important and should also be agreed upon with a specialist.Asanas are not performed on their own; they are done in combination with other exercises.The duration of classes is individual and depends on the patient’s physical fitness.
Kegel exercises for the treatment of prostatitis
Basically, the gymnastics developed by Dr. Kegel is aimed at preventing various male diseases, but there is one exercise that has a therapeutic effect specifically on the inflamed prostate - this is “pelvic floor muscle tension.”The essence of the exercise is to tense the muscles that are used by a person during the act of defecation, and not the buttocks, as one might think.It is advisable that the intestines be empty.Or, as an option, you should do the exercise while sitting on the toilet seat - this will save the patient from the unpleasant consequences of the exercise.You need to push not with the abdominal muscles, but with those that surround the rectum and sphincter.The doctor advises pushing as if the patient wants to vomit the prostate out.The inflamed organ is perceived by patients as a foreign object stuck in the rectum.The patient’s efforts should be aimed at his imaginary “defecation”.The exercise should be done 2-3 times a day for 5-10 minutes.
Physical exercises for prostatitis, carried out under the strict guidance of a professional, can bring considerable benefits to the male body.
Fitball
Fitball (not to be confused with “football”!) is a type of aerobics (fitness) that uses a large (up to a meter in diameter) ball.Fitball organically complements aerobics, adding a strength factor to it.Fitball allows you to achieve weight loss in a fairly short time.This quality attracts many people to this type of fitness.Obesity is a factor that significantly aggravates the course of prostatitis.Having gotten rid of excess weight, you can begin regular exercises from exercise therapy complexes for prostatitis.What exercises for prostatitis are there in fitball?Let's list them:
- Rotation of the pelvis on the ball.The ball should be slightly deflated and inelastic.Sit on the ball with your legs stretched forward.Then they make rotational movements with the pelvis, alternating movements to the left and right - 5-10 to the left, then the same amount to the right.
- Hugging the ball with your feet while lifting.The ball is hugged by the patient from the sides, then lifted off the floor with the muscles of the thighs.An exercise can be considered effective when the anus muscles work significantly during its execution.
- Leg twists with the ball.You need a ball with a diameter of up to 50 cm; a larger one will not work.The man lies on his back and lifts the ball with straight legs at an angle of 50-60 degrees.The ball is clamped by the side of the feet, the legs are rotated like a pendulum - left and right.
That's all.We were unable to find any other specialized fitball exercises against prostatitis.But fitball is good in itself; we remember that excess weight is a powerful factor in the development of prostatitis.Eliminating excess weight will make it easier for men to fight an unpleasant illness.