What’s new in research and clinical care for “Prostatitis” aka male Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome (CPPS)?

In Male Interstitial Cystitis / Nonbacterial Chronic Prostatitis / Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome by Stephanie Prendergast5 Comments

By Stephanie Prendergast, Cofounder, PHRC Los Angeles

 

If you are a man suffering from what feels like ‘prostatitis’, this blog and our upcoming informational event is for you.

 

Did you know?…

 

  • 10% of men experience prostatitis-like symptoms at some point in their lives.
  • 97% of these men do not have a prostate or bladder infection yet are still treated with antibiotics.
  • The majority of these men have pelvic floor dysfunction and can benefit from pelvic floor physical therapy.

 

Since the early 2000’s research has consistently shown the prostate itself is not the problem nor is the prostate infected.  Unfortunately here in 2018 there is continued misuse of the prostatitis diagnosis and subsequent medical mismanagement of suffering men.

 

Medical professionals specializing in urologic male pelvic pain, otherwise known as Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome (CPPS) want to change that. Jason Kutch, PhD organized a free event for men with CPPS at USC in Los Angeles on Wednesday, May 9, 2018 from 6:00 – 8:00pm. If you do not live in Los Angeles do not worry, the medical panel will be filmed and distributed.

 

 

Symptoms

 

 

Symptoms of CPPS can include some, all or a combination of the following symptoms:

 

  • Difficulty urinating,  starting the urinary stream, or straining to urinate
  • Urinary urgency and frequency
  • Burning during or after urination
  • Changes in erectile quality, strength of ejaculate and/or orgasm intensity
  • Pain with ejaculation
  • Pain and/or difficulty with bowel movement
  • Perineal, penile or anal pain
  • Perineal, penile or anal pain with sitting and/or exercise
  • Pain within the perineum region during sitting

 

Terminology

 

Over the past two decades there has been increasing evidence that multiple factors other than prostate and bladder dysfunction cause CPPS symptoms. As a result there has been debate about what urologic pelvic pain syndromes are and should be called. These terms include:

 

  • National Institute of Health categorization of Prostatitis
    • Category I: Acute systemic infection of prostate or bladder
    • Category II: Chronic bacterial prostatitis (CBP) which is caused by chronic bacterial infection of the prostate with or without prostatitis symptoms and usually with recurrent UTIs caused by the same bacterial strain.
    • Category III: Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome which is characterized by chronic pelvic pain symptoms and possibly voiding symptoms in the absence of UTI.
    • Category IIIa: Category III CPPS with the presence of inflammatory cells in prostatic secretions
    • Category IIIb: Category III CPPS without inflammatory cells in prostatic secretion
    • Category IV: Asymptomatic inflammatory prostatitis (AIP) which is characterized by prostate inflammation in the absence of genitourinary tract symptoms.
  • NIH categories III, IIIa, and IIIb are the most similar to CPPS because there is not active infection. Other terms include:
    • Nonbacterial Chronic Prostatitis
    • Chronic Prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome (CP/CPPS)
    • Interstitial Cystitis/Painful Bladder Syndrome (IC/PBS)
    • Male Pelvic Pain Syndrome (MPPS)

 

For the sake of this post we call the syndrome Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome (CPPS).

 

If it’s not a prostate infection, what is it?

 

CPPS is considered a heterogeneous syndrome, meaning it can have multiple and sometimes overlapping causes. CPPS is not a disease and therefore the underlying causes will vary from individual to individual. However, new studies are pointing to pelvic floor muscles as a major contributor to CPPS symptoms.

 

 

Male pelvic floor muscles

 

Diagnosis and Treatment

 

Because of the variability in each individual’s case diagnosis and treatment needs to be individualized.

 

On May 9th, 4 expert medical professionals will explain the latest advances in diagnosing and treating CPPS. The panel has been organized by researcher and neuroscientist Dr. Jason Kutch, and is interdisciplinary to reflect the different areas of involvement of CPPS.

 

The Panel

 

 

Dr. Kutch will discuss research efforts by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to create a new understanding of CPPS that will improve treatment.  Urologist Dr. Joshua Gonzalez will talk about the proper medical evaluation and treatment for men with CPPS. Pelvic floor physical therapists Daniel Kirages and Stephanie Prendergast will discuss the role the pelvic floor muscles and musculoskeletal system play in in CPPS. Finally, the panel will discuss effective treatment options and where men across America can find appropriate providers to help them. This event is open to patients, their families, and medical providers interested in the topic. 

 

Event Details

 

Wednesday, May 9, 2018 6pm-8pm

1540 E. Alcazar St, Los Angeles, CA 90033

Parking available. Please RSVP to Jason Kutch ([email protected]) by Wednesday May 2, 2018.

 

Thank-you and we hope to see you there!

 

Comments

  1. My daughter Colleen guest is a physical therapist specializes in pelvic floor. She forwarded this information to me. I like to be any memory of us thank you

  2. Very interested to share with my patients after it is filmed and available since we are out in Seattle and cannot make to the actual event.

    How can we /they access the Class after recording?

    thanks and Bravo for doing and putting out there!

    1. Hi Kathy,

      The video is on PHRC’s Facebook page.

      Regards,

      Admin

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