Prostate Massage - Prostate Massage As Alternative Therapy

Prostate Massage As Alternative Therapy

Prostate massage was once the most popular therapeutic maneuver used to treat prostatitis. According to the Prostatitis Foundation, "it used to be, in the age before antibiotics (before about 1960 for prostatitis), doctors performed massage when their patients had prostatitis. In some cases it was enough to cure them of the disease. ... it fell out of common practice with the advent of antibiotics. It's much easier to prescribe a pill and send the patient home." However, according to WebMD, in many prostatitis cases antibiotics do not work because the swelling and inflammation caused by the infection closes off the acini (or sacs), causing the acini not to "shed" bacteria, and protecting the bacteria inside from antibiotics and the body's own immune cells.

Continuing research in emerging medical communities, published articles in non-medical circles, and anecdotal evidence on the Internet shows that there is still interest in the technique as alternative therapy.

In China, a 2008 survey of 627 urologists found that prostate massage is used prevalently as a nonpharmacological therapy for chronic prostatitis.