When trying to keep your prostate gland nice and healthy, performing prostate massages using your finger or specially designed tools isn’t the only thing you can do to help. Good old fashioned physical exercise is also great! Many medical studies have been done and come to the conclusion that almost all kinds of physical activity will not only reduce the risk of contracting prostate diseases, but can also help managing the symptoms alongside your treatments.
Why a Healthy Prostate Is Important
All men have a prostate gland. It is a small, walnut shaped gland located just below the bladder and above the penis. Keeping this gland in tip top condition is incredibly important.
A healthy prostate assists in the production of fluids that get mixed with your sperm during ejaculation. It plays a key role in ejaculation, as the spasms experienced during orgasm will be your prostate gland pushing the fluids out of your penis. The gland also functions like a valve, switching between ejaculate and urine so that you have good control over what comes out of your penis, and when.
If your prostate gland becomes unhealthy, all of these functions can become impaired. You may experience discomfort and pain generally, when ejaculating, or when urinating. There is also risks of retrograde ejaculations and infertility. To avoid this many men will regularly partake in prostate milking, which expels the excess fluid from the prostate and allows blood flow to return to normal in the area, keeping everything working as it should.
As you can see, the prostate gland is responsible for a lot of the inner workings of a man’s lower half. Any man who wants to keep a healthy sex life with no problems will want to keep his in the best condition possible.
Exercise and the Prostate
Prostate milking and massage aren’t the only things you should be doing to maintain your prostate. As with almost any health related advice, leading a healthy and active life goes a long way towards keeping your prostate healthy. There is some general advice, and a couple of more specific things you should consider when thinking about your prostate.
Maintaining a Healthy Weight
As is the case with most parts of the body, carrying around excess weight tends to have a negative effect on the prostate. When you become overweight, your body needs to store the extra fat somewhere. It usually ends up getting stuffed in between all of your vital organs, placing them under extra strain and pressure all the time.
The prostate is one of the worst parts of the body to have this happen to. Most men’s prostate glands will naturally grow over the course of their lives. As a prostate grows it can put pressure on your urethra, making it difficult to urinate. By remaining overweight, you could be putting extra pressure on these areas of your body, aggravating the problems even further.
Regular Aerobic Activity
Most studies that have been done in relation to the prostate and exercise have covered mainly general aerobic activity. Examples include walking, jogging, or swimming. While the subjects and specific activities may vary, most of the studies have a very similar conclusion:
Being physically active on a regular basis is good for you!
Who would have thought? Jokes aside though, specific studies on the prostate have found vastly reduced risks of Benign Prostate Hyperplasia, Prostatitis, and even Prostate Cancer among men who are regularly active. These are all rather nasty diseases you can read more about here. The key point is just to get active! It doesn’t have to be running marathons or climbing mountains, even just a regular old walk can be good for your prostate.
Cycling
The one form of exercise which might not be so good for your prostate is cycling. Due to the design of most bicycle seats, you are essentially putting your entire weight on the perineum (the small area between your scrotum and anus). Unfortunately, underneath this skin is exactly where the prostate is located, and having many kilograms on it for extended periods of time can aggravate any underlying prostate issues. If you are an avid cyclist, be sure to try and buy a prostate friendly saddle, which is designed with a gap to reduce the pressure you put on this sensitive gland.
Kegel Exercises
Another specific point on exercises is Kegel exercises. You might not have heard of these before, as a lot of the information on them relates mainly to women and the vagina. They aren’t just for girls though!
Kegel exercises involve the tensing and releasing of the pelvic floor muscles. These muscles form a kind of hammock all across the bottom of your body, and hold many of your vital organs in place. They also play a key role in urination and defecation, allowing you to open and close the urethra and anus when needed.
While Kegels don’t specifically target the prostate gland, the entire pelvic floor area is involved in most of the same processes as the prostate. Keeping your pelvic floor healthy can help to make sure that all of your lower half is working together as it’s supposed to.
If you are already suffering from any kind of prostate diseases or infections, Kegel exercises can also be a great help. Many treatments or surgery for prostate illness might cause temporary periods of incontinence or difficulty in urinating. A healthy pelvic floor helps you maintain control over all of this, and keep your pee flowing as it should.
What are you waiting for? The only thing you need to do it get out there and do something! Okay maybe not cycling, but you get the idea. Keeping a generally healthy body is half the battle in keeping a healthy prostate, so make sure you’re getting your regular dose of fresh air and exercise, and hopefully your prostate shouldn’t cause you many problems throughout your life.