Prostatitis is well-treated using naturopathic medicine.

Prostatitis is an inflammation or infection of the prostate gland, a male organ about the size and shape of a walnut, located just below the bladder in males that produces semen. It may be acute (i.e., sudden and short-term) or chronic (i.e., slowly developing and long-term) in nature.

Prostatitis does not increase prostate cancer risk, but can affect fertility, ability to urinate, and in severe cases result in bacteria in your bloodstream (bacteremia).

Seek professional healthcare if you experience pelvic pain, difficult or painful urination, or painful orgasms (ejaculations).

Symptoms of Prostatitis

Possible symptoms of prostatitis include:

• Pain or burning sensation when urinating
• Difficulty urinating, such as dribbling or hesitant urination
• Urgent need to urinate
• Frequent urination, particularly at night
• Painful orgasms (ejaculations)
• Pain or discomfort of the penis or testicles
• Pain in the area between the scrotum and rectum
• Pain in the abdomen, groin or lower back
• Flu-like symptoms (with bacterial prostatitis)

Treatment of Prostatitis at Toronto Centre for Naturopathic Medicine

At Toronto Centre for Naturopathic Medicine, the goals of prostatitis treatment are to decrease or eliminate urinary symptoms, resolve infection and optimize immune system activity to prevent infection recurrence.

Conventional treatment for chronic prostatitis may include physical therapy or surgery, and a variety of medications, including antibiotics, alpha blockers, pain relievers and muscle relaxants. These treatments may have short- or long-term side effects.

For this reason, you may choose to try natural treatment to possibly avoid use of conventional medications, or together with conventional medications in order to decrease dosages of conventional medications required to manage your chronic prostatitis symptoms.

Naturopathic treatment of any chronic health concern must be recognized as a process that involves:

• Identifying specific treatment goals
• Development by your naturopathic doctor, of a thorough understanding of all factors affecting your health, including physical, psychological, emotional and lifestyle factors
• Development of a comprehensive treatment plan
• Implementation and maintenance of that plan through periodic monitoring and adjustment

At Toronto Centre for Naturopathic Medicine, a typical approach to treating chronic prostatitis may be to:

• Identify and address underlying factors in your lifestyle (e.g., exercise habits, caffeine and alcohol use) or general health (e.g., chronic dehydration) that may be contributing to your prostatitis symptoms
• Relieve pain using hydrotherapy or botanical (herbal) medicines
• Resolve infection using botanical (herbal) medicines or nutritional supplements
• Prevent recurrence by increasing immune system activity using botanical (herbal) medicines

Where appropriate, a number of therapeutic options are available, to be used alone, or more often in a complementary fashion, including:

• Nutritional counseling
• Nutritional supplements
• Metabolic detoxification protocols
• Botanical (herbal) medicines
• Acupuncture 
• Homeopathy
• Bowen Therapy
• Suikodo™
• Hydrotherapy
• Exercise prescription
• Relaxation (meditation) training
• Lifestyle medicine and counseling

Treatments provided by naturopathic doctors are covered by most extended healthcare plans.

References

Prostatitis [Internet]. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; [cited 2009 Feb 18]. Available from: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/prostatitis/DS00341.