Questions for athletes

[epieikeia]

Has anybody the sense that intensive abdominal training (crunches etc) affect your symptoms negatively, or even that they initially appeared due to such training or some other strenuous physical exercise?

What about biking?

Further: does "non-chronical, non-bacterial prostatitis" exist, or is it a vact, that once you get the symptoms, you live with them all your life?

[Carlton Higgins]

I can only speak for myself.

I exercise almost daily (roughly 6 times a week), and I don't notice that it changes my symptoms. I do about 100 situps, run 3 miles, lift weights, and swim (about an hour of exercise). Biking, however, is a different story. I do notice some discomfort after getting off the bike. It should also be noted that I developed this condition in the fall after a summer full of bike riding (not to mention drinking and not eating right).

The things that give me problems are..
1. Sitting on a hard surface for over 30 minutes. A church pew, bench, etc.
2. Acidic, spicy food, such as Thai or Mexican.
3. Eating too much -makes my bladder feel bloated.
4. Caffeine or Alcohol
5. Carbonated drinks, such as Sprite (also causes bloating).

While some men battle Prostatitis for years, I think it is a maintenance issue. As long as you take care of yourself, symptoms can be kept under control. It is my understading that it is simply an inflammation of the prostate, which is caused by a number of factors (resilient bacteria, nerves, muscle tension, food allergies, and urine). My method (which has worked so far) is
1. Exercise 5 times a week minimum
2. Avoid spicy foods, alcohol & caffiene
3. Use Prelief before eating mildly spicy food
4. Take Quercetin, Algonot, Prostatonin, Magnesium, Flax Seed Oil
5. Eat lots of fiber & broccoli
6. Drink lots of water
7. Use the prescription drug Flomax to help with frequency & urgency.
8. Engage in bladder training; I try to limit the number of times I go to about 4-6 times day, no matter what. I also try not to go at all during the night, even if I wake up with urgency. I am trying to train my bladder to fill completely before voiding, and break the habit of frequent urination.

[J Dimitrakov]

8. Engage in bladder training; I try to limit the number of times I go to about 4-6 times day, no matter what. I also try not to go at all during the night, even if I wake up with urgency. I am trying to train my bladder to fill completely before voiding, and break the habit of frequent urination.

I don't know if bladder training is a good idea in men, actually. No experimental evidence suggests any benefit except that it probably irritates the already irritated bladder and prostate even more.

[J Dimitrakov]

Has anybody the sense that intensive abdominal training (crunches etc) affect your symptoms negatively, or even that they initially appeared due to such training or some other strenuous physical exercise?

Some men have reported that in the past

What about biking?

Further: does "non-chronical, non-bacterial prostatitis" exist

Like what? "Traumatic prostatitis" (from bicycle riding)?

, or is it a vact, that once you get the symptoms, you live with them all your life?

Not necessarily

[gunde]

Has anybody the sense that intensive abdominal training (crunches etc) affect your symptoms negatively, or even that they initially appeared due to such training or some other strenuous physical exercise?

What about biking?

Further: does "non-chronical, non-bacterial prostatitis" exist, or is it a vact, that once you get the symptoms, you live with them all your life?

I suggest you read this:
http://www.prostatitis--dot--org/muscle.html

Personally I've felt direct pain when rowing in a "rowingmachine".
I've been doing a lot of stepup and this combined with excessive sitting, stress and food allergies has probably been the cause of my cp. Maybe my nerves is another factor. I hope not though.

[bdith]

Further: does "non-chronical, non-bacterial prostatitis" exist, or is it a vact, that once you get the symptoms, you live with them all your life?

Note: I am am not a doctor.

Acute prostatitis exists -- from what I've read, it's usually bacterial and is a very serious medical problem requiring immediate treatment (with antibiotics). You'd know if you had it as it is accompanied by a high fever and chills. The pain is also VERY intense. Unlike chronic non-bacterial prostatitis, acute bacterial prostatitis is rare.

Chronic does not necessarily mean 'life long". The definition of 'Chronic' is merely 'long lasting'. The distinction is important.

bd.

[Carlton Higgins]

gunde,

the article regarding the muscle disorder is interesting. I only wish I knew which stretching exercises the author is referring to.

After working out, I always sit in a hot tub for about 10-15 minutes, and this might be why the intense exercise doesn't aggravate the prostate.

[gunde]

gunde,

the article regarding the muscle disorder is interesting. I only wish I knew which stretching exercises the author is referring to.

After working out, I always sit in a hot tub for about 10-15 minutes, and this might be why the intense exercise doesn't aggravate the prostate.

I think you should be examined by a professional.

I did find an interesting page when searching for stretching instructions.
http://www.emedicine.com/sports/topic52.htm

"In basic terms, iliopsoas tendonitis is an inflammation of the tendon or area surrounding the tendon. Major causes of iliopsoas tendinitis are acute trauma and overuse resulting from repetitive hip flexion."

"In the US: No data on prevalence of iliopsoas tendinitis exists. Despite this, it is a relatively uncommon and poorly recognized cause of anterior hip or groin pain. Iliopsoas tendinitis is noted to affect young adults more commonly, with a slight female predominance."

Does this sound familiar?=)

[gunde]

oh, btw ..from my experience of Repetitiv Strain Injury in my arms I've noticed that stretching sometimes has a negative effect on the muscle, it gets even more irritated/inflammated.
The best thing is to rest and in this case one have to lie down, or even better lie down in a hot tub. Too bad I dont have one..=(
When I was home at my mums during xmas I lay down most of the time and it helped.

[epieikeia]

I actually originated this topic, and I'm pretty surprised about what I've already found out on the Iliopsoas stuff.

You see, the fact is that since July 2002 I've been on a intense training schedule, and maybe 2 months ago I started to experience the symptoms currently considered as acute prostatitis.

Reflecting on my symptoms right now, I am strongly aware of the strain and lack of mobility in those areas where the iliopsoas joins the legs (the femure bone) i.e. i) below the buttocks slightly on the inner side of the leg plus ii) as part of the abdominal muscles. One could imagine this muscle almost running "through" the rectum and prostate from the inner thigh up through the pelvis/abdomen to the lower back. I've also experienced mild lower back soreness as if the strain would work across the front to the back of the body: from the upper groin/lower abdomen to the lower back.

I've found some stretching instructions, but not in English (in Dutch). The accompanying pictures show they are quite normal "lunge" type movements where the front leg is bent at the knee, the hip is "pressed" forward with back straight, while the other leg is kept back almost with knee on the ground.

Quite anatomical, but seems like having a lot to do with my predicament. Even if this might not cover the complete picture, I think it explains part of the problem. The fact that I did some snowboarding recently in pretty cold weather might have caused the violent and acute symptoms of bladder problems which I did not have previously, even if I've already experienced many of the Iliopsoas kind of signs.

[alprost]

Exercise causes huge flare ups for me. I beleive that is you have pelvic floor muscle dysfunction, and the resulting pain and inflammation in yur PFM, excercise will exaccerbate your symptoms. There is no scientific evidence for this, but this is largely because this hypothesis has never been investigated.

[Carlton Higgins]

alprost,

what type of exercise do you do? Is it with ANY exercise?

[gunde]

Quite anatomical, but seems like having a lot to do with my predicament. Even if this might not cover the complete picture, I think it explains part of the problem. The fact that I did some snowboarding recently in pretty cold weather might have caused the violent and acute symptoms of bladder problems which I did not have previously, even if I've already experienced many of the Iliopsoas kind of signs.

It might be so that when the Iliopsoas gets inflammated the inflammation then spreads to the prostate and maybe even to the bladder when the body gets cooled down.
This is just my theory though.

[bti20]

Exercise always causes a flare-up for me. Its fascinating really. I have various 'stable' pain locations, but after exercise I get a batch of different ones on top. For instance, the other day I had a pain after exercise which was simultaneously in the muscle and somehow projected onto my right testicle at the same time. It was strangely comforting to find out that pain can just flash up somewhere after muscle aggravation - it makes you think that all this pain could be purely muscle related.

Gunde, I know what you mean about discomfort below the buttocks and between the legs. I always have a feeling of congestion or muscle tightness in that location. I also have a sharp pain in beneath my left buttock when I walk.

[alprost]

alprost,

what type of exercise do you do? Is it with ANY exercise?

Pretty much so. Running caused a massive flare up, swimming an even worse one. I'm pretty sure that this is bacuase my PFM were dysfunctional and inflamed, and that exercise exaccerbated this.

This is an improtant point - Both times the flare up happened precisely 2 DAYS after exercise. My own academic background is in Exercise Physiology and I know that muscle soreness after exercise typically occurs 2 DAYS after exposure to exercise, which is why it is referred to as 'Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness' or 'DOMS' Also, your pelvic floor muscles have an important role in regulating intra-abdominal pressure during exercise.

Draw your own conclusions from this!