Your prostate is a small gland in your reproductive system that’s situated at the neck of your bladder, where it surrounds your urethra, or the tube that carries urine from your bladder out through your penis. The urethra is also what carries semen out through your penis during sexual climax, or ejaculation.

Prostatitis is the term used for a prostate that has become swollen or inflamed. It’s the most common reproductive/urinary tract problem for men younger than 50. There are two main types of inflammation that affect the prostate gland:

Chronic prostatitis

Also known as chronic pelvic pain syndrome, the exact cause of persistent prostatitis syndrome is unknown. It’s believed that a microorganism, but not a bacterial infection, may cause the problem.

The main symptom of chronic prostatitis is persistent pain in your pelvis, genitals, lower back, and buttocks.

Other symptoms include:

• Pain when urinating
• Frequent urge to urinate
• Difficulty urinating
• Pain when ejaculating

Bacterial prostatitis

Bacterial prostatitis is the result of a bacterial infection of the prostate, which is usually caused by bacteria that travels from the urethra and into your prostate. Acute bacterial prostatitis happens suddenly and is short-lived; chronic bacterial prostatitis develops slowly and persists for a long time.

Common symptoms of bacterial prostatitis include:

• Frequent urge to urinate
• Burning sensation or pain when urinating
• Fever, chills, and body aches
• Pelvic and genital pain
• Urinary tract infection (UTI)

Also called benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), prostate gland enlargement is most common in men over the age of 50. In fact, more than a third of all older men experience symptoms of prostate enlargement at some point. When a prostate enlarges and squeezes down on the urethra; bladder wall becomes thicker and bladder may weaken and lose its ability to empty completely.

Researchers don’t know why the prostate becomes larger with age, but they do know that it isn’t caused by cancer, and it doesn’t increase your risk of developing prostate cancer.

What an enlarged prostate does do, however, is put pressure on your urethra and affect how you urinate. Common signs of an enlarged prostate include:

• Difficulty starting or stopping urination
• Feeling as if you can’t empty your bladder completely
• Straining to urinate, or a weak flow of urine
• Prolonged dribbling after urination
• Getting the urge to urinate more frequently or suddenly

Pelvic Floor Dysfunction

When you are unable to control the muscles in your pelvic floor to have a bowel movement; people with this dysfunction contract these muscles rather than relax them.

• Symptoms:
  • Feeling of having several bowel movements during a short period of time
  • Feeling of not being able to complete a bowel movement
  • Frequent need to urinate
  • Painful urination
  • Constipation
  • Pain in lower back not explained by other causes
  • Pain for women during intercourse
• Treatment:
  • Medicine: diazepam
  • Physical Therapy: learn to relax and coordinate movement of pelvic floor muscles
  • Behavior changes – learning to relax muscles in pelvic floor area
    • Yoga
    • Warm baths
    • Avoiding pushing and straining when urinating/having bowel movements

As a board-certified urologist, Dr. Yamada is specially trained in every aspect of the urinary tract and all parts of the male reproductive system.

Given that different prostate conditions share many of the same symptoms, Dr. Yamada has the expertise and experience to reach the correct diagnosis quickly and offer the best treatment options.   

If you have any of the symptoms associated with common prostate problems, make an appointment with Dr. Yamada today.