Breathe
By Mariana Castro
I am a physiotherapist, a pelvic floor specialist and they call me the Queen of the Prostate, a small gland that is only found in the male body and is the size of a walnut. Without being biological equivalents, the consequences of the prostate are similar to those of the uterus: they either give birth or they give problems. And the prostate can be very problematic. The prostate and its consequences would seem to be exclusive to the male world, but the reality is that we women are so involved that it feels like prostate disease happens in our bodies. It all starts with one of the many sounds of the human organism. They urinate, we listen.... A symbiosis that uncovers prostate problems. Although the person indicated to make the official diagnosis of a prostate is the Urologist, the diagnostic suspicion is auditory, it happens next to the bathroom, and it is almost always feminine.
Men see, feel and hear the changes appear when they urinate and think they will disappear as they came. But it doesn't. Because I have to clarify that there should not be any change in the pattern of waste by our body. That is, just as we urinate in childhood, we should continue to do so throughout our lives. Thinking that it is part of life and a consequence of the passage of time is common and erroneous. Changes in urination can be identified as an intermittent stream, a slower flow, a thinner stream, starting to urinate one way and finishing another, increasing frequency or decreasing, starting to urinate or finishing it takes work. This may or may not go hand in hand with urinary incontinence, which is when the bladder cannot be emptied properly, when the urge to urinate comes immediately (urinary urgency), the frequency increases gradually until you can not sleep or watch a full soccer game, or urine leakage occurs with efforts ranging from the change of movement, coughing and laughing, causing moisture in underwear and outerwear. All of the above affects men's lives and although the instinctive responsibility of women is to go immediately to the doctor if the way they urinate changes, men are not so docile when it comes to going to a urological consultation.
There are taboos, fears and ignorance that prevent a timely diagnosis. If we understand that the prostate is located just below the bladder and surrounds the urethra, which is the tube that transports urine to the outside of the body, we can easily relate that when it becomes inflamed and grows, it immediately causes urinary symptoms and it is easy to diagnose it in time. In time to recover and maintain quality of life. A prostatitis, which is an inflammation of the prostate, can affect so much that it causes the life of the patient and his loved ones to revolve around the bathroom. And prostatitis is not synonymous with seriousness, while not being diagnosed in time is.
From the urological diagnosis the patient has many treatment options, depending on the condition. In all cases pelvic floor rehabilitation is essential and is in addition to urological treatments. The pelvic floor is identified as follows: the next time you go to urinate, cut the stream and feel the muscle contraction that allowed you to cut it. Those muscles that contract are the ones that form the pelvic floor. Pelvic floor rehabilitation is done with simple exercises that do not require much physical skill, only discipline and perseverance. The objective is to decontract, strengthen and stretch the muscles to regain control when urinating. Each patient is different and the rehabilitation time varies. What is a constant is that the pelvic floor always exceeds my expectations, it is extremely noble, kind and grateful. It restores quality of life to patients in unexpected times and ways.
Something that has surprised me since the pandemic is the increase of young men, between 20 and 40 years old, who have come to my office with pelvic pain, a localized pain "inside", often disabling and often accompanied by erectile dysfunction. One more situation that diminishes the quality of life and from which they can recover if the pelvic floor is rehabilitated. Here the origin is the pudendal nerve, a nerve that comes from the spinal column and gives sensitivity, mobility and contraction to the muscles of the pelvic floor, besides being in charge of the erection of the penis. If the pelvic floor is not rehabilitated and a prostate problem is added, in the following years men will forget about the concept of good quality of life.
Everything is treatable, recoverable, the pelvic floor can be rehabilitated and the prostate can be healthy and happy. The sooner the diagnosis is made, the more efficient the treatment will be, so that we will not be embarrassed to dance the calmaditas or a crazy cumbión: from the prostate to the world, her majesty, the Queen of the Prostate.
*Mariana Castro Sordo studied Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation at the Adele School of Medicine and Rehabilitation. She later completed postgraduate studies in Muscle and Joint Chains DGS Method at the Center of Formation Philippe Campignion and in Pelvic Floor Rehabilitation at the Herman & Wallace Pelvic Rehabilitation Institute in the United States.
She is an expert in:
- Sports Rehabilitation
- Pelvic Floor
- Urinary Incontinence
- Pregnancy
- Muscle Chains
- Spine Rehabilitation
- Knee and Shoulder
- Spine, Knee and Shoulder Pain
Mariana created the *Clínica Fisio Alivio* in Mexico City, where she attends in person or by telemedicine.
The opinions expressed are the responsibility of the authors and are absolutely independent of the position and editorial line of the company. Opinion 51.
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