Prostatitis doesn’t get much press, but it’s a common inflammatory condition that causes over 2 million doctor’s visits in the United States each year. Some cases are caused by bacteria, which can be easily detected and treated with antibiotics. However, in over 90% of cases, the symptoms of prostatitis (such as painful urination or ejaculation, pelvic pain, and sexual dysfunction) have no obvious cause. This is called chronic nonbacterial prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS). Treatment can vary. If you have had a urinary tract infection before this condition, your doctor may start you off with antibiotics. They may also recommend anti-inflammatory painkillers, stress reduction, pelvic floor exercises, and even medications such as alpha blockers, which relax tight muscles in the prostate and bladder.
Another treatment that may be effective for some men is acupuncture. A review article of three studies published in 2018 found that acupuncture may relieve CP/CPPS symptoms without the side effects associated with medications.
The results of this newly published clinical trial, published in a prestigious journal, show that acupuncture can provide long-term relief of symptoms. Annals of Internal MedicineThe findings of this study are encouraging news for people with CP/CPPS.
In acupuncture, disposable needles are inserted into “acupuncture points” at different locations on the body and manipulated using manual, heat, or electrical stimulation. In the study, researchers from 10 centers in China assigned 440 men with prostatitis to receive 20 sessions (over eight weeks) of either real acupuncture or simulated treatments, in which needles were inserted away from traditional acupuncture points.
Although the researchers were physicians, treatments were performed by certified acupuncturists with five years of undergraduate education and at least two years of clinical experience. Treatment outcomes were assessed using the National Institutes of Health Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (NIH-CPSI), which scores pain, urinary function, and quality of life. The men were followed up for 24 weeks after the eight-week treatment session.
By week 8, just over 60% of men in the acupuncture group reported a significant improvement in their symptoms (excluding sexual dysfunction), compared with 37% of men in the sham group. Importantly, these differences remained relatively stable through week 32, suggesting that the effects of acupuncture remain stable even several months after treatment begins.
Exactly how acupuncture relieves prostatitis symptoms is unclear. The study authors point to several possibilities, including that stimulating acupressure points promotes the release of natural opioid-like chemicals (enkephalins, endorphins, and dynorphins) that have pain-relieving properties. Acupuncture may also have anti-inflammatory properties, and the experience of receiving treatment may provide psychological benefits that lead to symptom improvement, the authors speculate.
“There has been very little research on prostatitis CPPS and the results have often been disappointing, so this article by a practitioner who is also an expert in acupuncture is very welcome,” said Dr. Mark Garnick, the Gorman Brothers Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and an editor at Harvard Health Publishing. Annual report on prostate diseaseand Editor-in-Chief of HarvardProstateKnowledge.org. “The possible causes of prostatitis are numerous and not fully understood. Additionally, we don’t fully understand why or how interventions that may occasionally help relieve bothersome symptoms work. If you are considering acupuncture, my advice is to make sure the acupuncturist you choose is adequately trained and certified to perform this potentially important intervention.”
