Yoga Can Help Men Undergoing Prostate Cancer Treatment

Prostate cancer treatment is a topic that many people feel isn’t talked about enough.  The subject may be gaining more time in the spotlight with efforts like Movember, but are people truly learning more about this disease, what it can do, how to recognize it and how to treat it?  In the scientific and medical community, vast efforts are being made to better understand what can be done to prevent and treat it, as well as to cope with the outcomes.

In that vein, researchers have now found that men who are undergoing prostate cancer treatment, particularly in the form of radiation, can often stabilize or even decrease their side effects by practicing yoga.  Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine made this discovery in a recent study.

Throughout the study, 68 eligible patients who were undergoing this type of prostate cancer treatment were asked to take part in 75 minute yoga Eischens classes, twice per week.  Among them, 66 percent chose to participate, while 40 percent followed through and completed the entire course.

Researchers then asked the study participants a number of questions with regards to the way the patients were coping with their treatments, such as in the areas of overall quality of life, fatigue levels, urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction.  Those were chosen because they are all typical side effects of this kind of treatment.

The researchers chose Eischens yoga because it is typically considered to be appropriate for all fitness, experience, and body type levels.

The men who took part and who completed the entire course were found to have side effects that were 60 to 90 percent milder than those who did not take part in the yoga at all.

Among the explanations offered by the researchers was that yoga can help to boost blood flow throughout the body while strengthening the pelvic floor muscles.  This combination may help to reduce the sensation of fatigue, while improving erectile dysfunction and urinary incontinence.  As a whole, that can also enhance the patient’s quality of life.

Previous studies have shown that prostate cancer patients aren’t the only ones who can benefit from practicing yoga.  Female patients who have undergone treatments for breast cancer have also shown that by taking part in these exercises on a regular basis, they can reduce the unwanted symptoms they experience.  

That said, American statistics have shown that among people who practice yoga, 72 percent are female and only 18 percent are male.  Clearly, there is a need to promote awareness about this potential benefit along with the discussions of cancers that can affect men.

Prostate cancer treatment is a topic that many people feel isn’t talked about enough.  The subject may be gaining more time in the spotlight with efforts like Movember, but are people truly learning more about this disease, what it can do, how to recognize it and how to treat it?  In the scientific and medical community, vast efforts are being made to better understand what can be done to prevent and treat it, as well as to cope with the outcomes.

In that vein, researchers have now found that men who are undergoing prostate cancer treatment, particularly in the form of radiation, can often stabilize or even decrease their side effects by practicing yoga.  Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine made this discovery in a recent study.

Throughout the study, 68 eligible patients who were undergoing this type of prostate cancer treatment were asked to take part in 75 minute yoga Eischens classes, twice per week.  Among them, 66 percent chose to participate, while 40 percent followed through and completed the entire course.

Researchers then asked the study participants a number of questions with regards to the way the patients were coping with their treatments, such as in the areas of overall quality of life, fatigue levels, urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction.  Those were chosen because they are all typical side effects of this kind of treatment.

The researchers chose Eischens yoga because it is typically considered to be appropriate for all fitness, experience, and body type levels.

The men who took part and who completed the entire course were found to have side effects that were 60 to 90 percent milder than those who did not take part in the yoga at all.

Among the explanations offered by the researchers was that yoga can help to boost blood flow throughout the body while strengthening the pelvic floor muscles.  This combination may help to reduce the sensation of fatigue, while improving erectile dysfunction and urinary incontinence.  As a whole, that can also enhance the patient’s quality of life.

Previous studies have shown that prostate cancer patients aren’t the only ones who can benefit from practicing yoga.  Female patients who have undergone treatments for breast cancer have also shown that by taking part in these exercises on a regular basis, they can reduce the unwanted symptoms they experience.  

That said, American statistics have shown that among people who practice yoga, 72 percent are female and only 18 percent are male.  Clearly, there is a need to promote awareness about this potential benefit along with the discussions of cancers that can affect men.