PERSONAL GROWTH
PROSTATE HEALTH
Benign prostatic hypertrophy is a common aging problem for men. It affects one in four men over the age of 50. BPH is a noncancerous prostate gland growth, making urination difficult and uncomfortable. The expanding prostate squeezes the urethra, the channel that carries urine from the bladder.
Dihydrotestosterone (DHT)
As man ages, testosterone levels decrease as estrogen levels increase. He tends to become more vulnerable to the effects of certain hormones, including (DHT) dihydrotestosterone, which also rises. As DHT stimulates cell growth, the cells multiply and cause the gland to increase in size. This noncancerous growth is called Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH). It becomes a medical issue when the prostate grows large enough to obstruct the urethra, which transports urine from the bladder to the tip of the penis.
Symptoms of BPH
Symptoms of BPH include a frequent urge to urinate, increased urination during the night, urinary urgency, difficulty starting urination, trouble with ejaculation and dribbling at the end of urination, pain in the perineum, painful, burning urination, a weak urinary stream, and impotence.
As much as 98 percent of BPH is combined with inflammation-chronic prostatitis. 90% of men will feel squeezed by the time they reach their 70s if they have BPH by their 50s. Although annoying, an enlarged prostate usually is not dangerous unless it impairs the complete emptying of the bladder. During your routine physical, your doctor will do a simple digital rectal exam (DRE) and a PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) test, which helps to keep a close watch on your prostate.
Signs and Symptoms:
- The need to urinate frequently
- Inability to sleep through the night without getting up to urinate
- Difficulty starting a urine stream or complete inability to urinate
- Decreased strength and force of the urine stream
- Dribbling after urination ends
- Blood in the urine (BPH can cause tiny blood vessels to burst)
BPH is called a silent disease because it doesn’t always cause pain, men commonly don’t feel its progression, and men won’t willingly talk about it even to close friends.
Acupuncture treatments have proven effective for BPH. The acupuncture treatment is individualized to each patient’s presentation. During treatment, the goal is to balance disharmony, open the acupuncture channels, reduce inflammation, stop the pain, stop bleeding, shrink the prostate, and smooth urination. The treatment achieves this goal by regulating the qi flow throughout the body, particularly the lower abdomen and sacral regions. Acupuncture points for BPH tend to be on the lower abdomen, lower back, sacrum, arms, legs, and ears. Electroacupuncture and moxibustion may also be used to augment the acupuncture itself.
Acupuncture Treatments
Generally, a treatment course consists of ten acupuncture treatments – 1 to 3 treatments a week. Depending on the severity of your conditions, you may need to come for one or more courses of treatment. For BPH, improvement is gradual but can be long-lasting.
The following five symptoms characterize BPH:
- Constantly going to the bathroom could be a sign of BPH or prostatitis.
- You have trouble starting to urinate; you have to strain to start peeing, and you hesitate to urinate
- Feeling like you can’t pee, like you still need to empty your bladder
- Reduced bladder capacity, feeling like you need to pee more often
- Peeing that starts and stops, dribbling urine, a weak stream of urine
- Nighttime urination, nocturia
The disease is not important. The “patient” is important, because the patient has created the disease. The cause is in the patient; the disease is only a symptom. You can change the symptom, and another symptom will come up. You can force this disease by drugs, you can stop its expression, but then the disease will assert itself somewhere else and with more danger, more force – with a vengeance. So we will feel the “patient.” As we all aware education and experience equality important. But most important to get in tune with the “patient” and find the cause using both western and eastern medicine. We care and will build a rapport; and create a bridge on your healing journey!
Download this pdf if you would like more information, as this is one of the first English-language journals devoted to traditional Chinese medicine. This will help you to understand and you can discuss with the practioner more in detail for your faster recovery.
We are here to help you to recover you from the root!
Please call us or send email to find out how we can help you! Please download the a scientic journal to understand how tcm helps in your pain or illness.
Medical Treatment for BPH and Prostatitis
The medical doctor will likely perform a rectal exam to determine the size of the prostate gland and blood and urine tests to detect bladder infection, kidney infection, and prostate infection when you see him or her about BPH. Additionally, PSA (prostate-specific antigen) levels will be checked, which can indicate prostate enlargement. According to your age, you may have a higher or lower PSA level. A significant increase in PSA levels over a short period may indicate prostate cancer risk, and your doctor may recommend further testing, such as a biopsy.
BPH can be treated with medications called alpha-blockers (Flomax) that relax the bladder and prostate muscles. Drugs that inhibit 5-alpha reductase can shrink the prostate by affecting hormones. For some patients, these medications are not particularly helpful, and they can take time to become effective.
Treat BPH with surgery?
It is also possible to treat BPH with surgery by removing parts of the prostate to relieve pressure on the urethra or by cutting off the prostate’s blood supply. However, these surgeries are not indicated for all cases and can have negative results for some men, including infections, bleeding, and ED.
An enlarged prostate may cause you to suffer from prostatitis or a urinary tract infection (UTI). When treating acute infections, these medications usually work well, but not when treating chronic infections. The most common type of prostate disease, CPPS, cannot be treated with antibiotics.
Does acupuncture help enlarged prostates caused by BPH?
Men’s sexual health can be improved by TCM.
There are many written records of acupuncture points and herbal formulations used throughout TCM, which dates back thousands of years in China. TCM describes the body’s organ systems differently than western medicine. According to Chinese medicine, the reproductive organs are closely related to the functioning of other organs.
Since the prostate is closely related to the kidney system, excessive dampness and heat can build up in the lower region of the pelvis when the kidneys or liver’s Qi (life force energy) is weak.
TCM emphasizes the connection between emotional and physical health. Stagnation of the liver is associated with anger and pent-up frustrations, while kidneys and spleens can be affected by stress, anxiety, worrying, and overwork. Men’s health issues like BPH can also be influenced by inadequate sleep, inactivity, poor diet, drugs, and overdoing sexual activities.
In order to determine which organs are involved, an acupuncturist will examine each individual’s situation to determine which organs are involved. Men’s hormones and energy will be balanced using acupuncture points for prostate pain and Chinese herbs for prostate inflammation.
Prostatitis and BPH
Prostatitis and BPH can be treated with acupuncture points that help relieve pain and difficulty urinating without downtime or adverse side effects.
In a clinical study of 100 patients treated with acupuncture for BPH over six weeks, over 90% reported less pain in the prostate and improved urinary function.
A systematic review of eight studies involving over 650 men treated for BPH with TCM showed significant positive changes in men’s health outcomes.
A review of studies using Chinese herbs for BPH suggested that herbal treatment for BPH may work even better than alpha-blockers.
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