Enlarged prostate, can acupuncture help?
Prostate enlargement, also known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), is a common condition in men. It is usually not a serious threat to health, but it does affect quality of life. If the prostate becomes enlarged, it can place pressure on the bladder and urethra. It may cause difficulty starting urination, a frequent need to urinate, and difficulty fully emptying the bladder. Current treatment options for BPH include watchful waiting, lifestyle modifications, alpha blockers, 5 alpha-reductase inhibitors, phytochemicals, and BPH-related surgery. Although most of the aforementioned therapies have various degrees of documented effectiveness in the management of BPH, the use of these interventions are limited to specific patient populations or have certain side effects that interfere with patient's quality of life
Acupuncture is also used to treat BPH to improve the symptoms in china. Recent research provided evidence for the effectiveness of acupuncture on BPH. There was a study participated with 91 patients with BPH. After 4 weeks ofacupuncutre treatment, the Prostatic Symptom Score Prostatic Symptom Score (IPSS) which was used to assess BPH lowered, the maximal urinary flow rate increased, the post-voided residual urine volume decreased, the urinary symptom bother score reduced, times of holding urine in 24 h (HU) and the times of night-urinating (NU). Another study in 138 patients with BPH also showed that acupuncture were effective in improvement of IPSS cumulative score, life quality index cumulative score, nocturia times, urine stream state, hypogastrium symptom, maximal volume of urine flow, residual urine volume, prostatic volume.
References
Yang T et al Zhongguo Zhong Xi Yi Jie He Za Zhi (2008) 28:998-1000
Liu QG et al Zhongguo Zhen Jiu (2008) 28:555-9
