Prostate Health

The prostate is a male reproductive gland that lies just below the bladder. It encircles the urethra, the tube in the penis through which urine and semen pass. The prostate contributes fluids and nutrients to the semen.

Prostatitis is a condition in which the prostate gland becomes inflamed and can cause significant discomfort, pain, and a variety of other sexual health related symptoms. There are many types of prostatitis, some of which are caused by bacteria and others, the more chronic kind, possibly being caused by a multitude of other factors including stress, tension, and lifestyle. In fact, for decades most doctors and Urologists have been bewildered and at a loss to explain what actually causes the long-term chronic prostatitis known as “chronic pelvic pain syndrome” (CPPS), the most common prostatitis disorder affecting 95% of complaints. Treatment for CPPS was traditionally focused on the prostate itself whereas more modern day treatments are taking a multimodal “whole body” approach encompassing naturopathic and traditional medicine and alternative treatments.

Men are often hesitant to learn about prostate health until symptoms start to appear.  If you are experiencing symptoms of frequent urination, hesitancy, dribbling, pain with urination or getting up to urinate during the night, you may have prostate issues.

Acupuncture & Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) can provide a safe and natural alternative to medications.  In TCM, a diagnosis is made by carefully listening to signs and symptoms which may be relevant, taking into account the individual patient’s story and experience of his own body.  Past medical history, including medications, surgeries, nutritional intake and stress level are all taken into account.  In addition, tongue and pulse diagnosis,  and palpation of the back and abdomen are an integral part of a TCM diagnostic intake.

When treating the prostate with acupuncture, needles are likely to be placed in the arms and legs, abdomen and back.  Acupuncture channels run vertically along the body, and the points that are most effective are often those that are the furthest from the local area.

The needles may be used with or without a miniscule electrical charge, in which case the treatment is known as electroacupuncture.

How many needles will your acupuncturist use? That depends on you and your symptoms, as each acupuncture treatment is individualized. You may have as few as one or two or as many as 8 or 10. The number of sessions necessary to experience long-lasting relief also varies, but typically men have one to two treatments per week for five to six weeks or more.

Lee SW1, Liong ML, Yuen KH, Leong WS, Chee C, Cheah PY, Choong WP, Wu Y, Khan N, Choong WL, Yap HW, Krieger JN.

Author information

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) afflicts 2%-10% of adult men. Available therapies offer little or no proven benefit. Because acupuncture represents an attractive “natural” therapy, we compared the efficacy of acupuncture to sham acupuncture for CP/CPPS.

METHODS:

Participants met US National Institutes of Health (NIH) consensus criteria for CP/CPPS, were aged > or = 20 years old, and had a total score > or = 15 on the NIH Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (NIH-CPSI) and symptoms for at least 3 of the preceding 6 months. They were randomized 1:1 to acupuncture or sham acupuncture. Treatment consisted of twice-weekly 30-minute sessions for 10 weeks (20 sessions total) without needle stimulation, herbs, or adjuvants. The primary response criterion was a 6-point decrease from baseline to week 10 in NIH-CPSI total score (range 0-43).

RESULTS:

Thirty-two (73%) of 44 participants responded in the acupuncture group compared with 21 (47%) of 45 sham group participants (relative risk 1.81, 95% confidence interval, 1.3-3.1, P = .02). Long-term responses 24 weeks after completing therapy without additional treatment occurred in 14 (32%) of 44 acupuncture group participants and in 6 (13%) of 45 sham group participants (relative risk 2.39, 95% confidence interval, 1.0-5.6, P = .04).

CONCLUSIONS:

After 10 weeks of treatment, acupuncture proved almost twice as likely as sham treatment to improve CP/CPPS symptoms. Participants receiving acupuncture were 2.4-fold more likely to experience long-term benefit than were participants receiving sham acupuncture.

The prostate is a male reproductive gland that lies just below the bladder. It encircles the urethra, the tube in the penis through which urine and semen pass. The prostate contributes fluids and nutrients to the semen. Benign prostatic hypertrophy, or more simply an enlarged prostate, is generally considered a normal part of the aging process. The prostate gland grows bigger, and can cause problems with urination when it begins to squeeze the urethra or press on the bladder.

The reason an enlarged prostate is called benign prostatic hypertrophy (that last ‘H’ sometimes stands for hyperplasia) is this condition is not cancer and does not contribute to cancer risk.

Less than half of all men with an enlarged prostate show symptoms. Those who do have symptoms of BPH, usually have one or more of the following symptoms:

• Urinary dribbling following the end of urination
• Inability to urinate (urinary retention)
• Feeling of incomplete urination
• Incontinence
• Nocturia, or the need to urinate more than 2 times at night
• Pain with urination or bloody urine (these may indicate infection)
• Slowed or delayed start of the urinary stream (hesitancy)
• Strong and sudden urge to urinate (urgency)
• Weak urine stream

The cause of BPH is unknown, but the prostate does seem to become enlarged as part of the normal course of aging.

Additionally, doctors have noticed that men who have had their testicles removed at a young age do not develop BPH. If the testicles are removed after the onset of BPH, the prostate will return to its original size. So, it is suspected that some process happening in the testicles plays a roll in the development of an enlarged prostate.

According to the National Institutes of Health, here are some additional BPH facts (quote):

• BPH is so common that it has been said all men will have an enlarged prostate if they live long enough.
• A small amount of prostate enlargement is present in many men over age 40 and more than 90% of men over age 80.
• No risk factors have been identified other than having normally functioning testicles.

The cause of BPH is unknown, but the prostate does seem to become enlarged as part of the normal course of aging.

Additionally, doctors have noticed that men who have had their testicles removed at a young age do not develop BPH. If the testicles are removed after the onset of BPH, the prostate will return to its original size. So, it is suspected that some process happening in the testicles plays a roll in the development of an enlarged prostate.

According to the National Institutes of Health, here are some additional BPH facts (quote):

• BPH is so common that it has been said all men will have an enlarged prostate if they live long enough.
• A small amount of prostate enlargement is present in many men over age 40 and more than 90% of men over age 80.
• No risk factors have been identified other than having normally functioning testicles.

Acupuncture and the theories behind it were developed thousands of years ago, and so do not rely on the same tests a doctor would perform. Rather, as an acupuncturist, I will ask you all about your subjective experience of having an enlarged prostate, such as frequency of urination or sensations and discomfort. I will also collect some objective information – pulse, tongue and abdominal diagnosis – by looking at how you present to me in the clinic.

I then put all of this information to create a Chinese medicine diagnosis, or pattern of disharmony. This guides your treatments.

I use a combination of acupuncture, herbal medicine, dietary therapy and nutritional supplements to decrease urinary urgency and night urination, stop discomfort and decrease hesitancy. This is done by using the pattern diagnosis mentioned above to treat the symptoms I see before me. There is no one-size-fits-all treatment. It’s about treating You the Individual.  Every treatment is fully customized for your specific constellation of symptoms.

Here is an example of research regarding acupuncture and the treatment of prostatitis:

Am J Med. 2008 Jan;121(1):79.e1-7. doi: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2007.07.033.