Author | Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT pelvic health physical therapist with more than 2 decades experience treating men before and after prostate surgery, radiation and biopsy.
Does Physical Therapy after Prostatectomy Work?
Yes, it does, read on for more details. Pelvic physical therapy after prostatectomy can improve your urinary incontinence, decrease pain, improve your quality of life, teach you exactly what you need to do, address erectile dysfunction and provide you with comprehensive rehabilitation. If you are interested in learning more about our pelvic PT program for prostate cancer rehabilitation, call us at 616-516-4334 or contact us here to ask us a question. PT after prostatectomy works to improve your pelvic floor muscle control so you can more quickly achieve bladder control, reduce pain and improve your quality of life.
We are Purple Mountain Physical Therapy, a pelvic health specialty clinic located in Grand Rapids, MI. We treat men before and after their prostatectomy or radiation therapy for prostate cancer.
We offer our treatment in-person and via telehealth. Our clinic provides private, comfortable treatment rooms and a gym space for pelvic floor, balance and core muscle retraining. It is our goal to help you fully rehabilitate and provide you the peace of mind of knowing you are doing all the right things to optimize your recovery. Our physical therapy after prostatectomy or radiation therapy includes treatment for bladder control, bowel control (especially if you have radiation therapy), pelvic floor dysfunction, pain and erectile dysfunction. If you are interested in learning more about cost and availability of our pelvic physical therapy program for prostate cancer, call us at 616-516-4334 to speak with one of our staff or contact us here.
Our pelvic PTs at Purple Mountain PT specialize in providing rehabilitation for prostate cancer recovery and are here to support you on your journey back to good health.
At Purple Mountain PT, our doctors of physical therapy specialize in pelvic health rehabilitation for men, women and kids. Not all PTs know how to help you recover following a prostatectomy because it requires additional training, beyond graduate school, to specialize in male pelvic health rehabilitation. All of our physical therapists are experienced in rehabilitation for prostatectomy and radiation therapy. To work with one of our PTs, reach out to our staff at 616-516-4334 to learn how to get started or contact us here.
We recommend Prehab pelvic physical therapy before prostatectomy or radiation therapy. This begins your pelvic floor muscle training.
The therapy before prostate surgery or radiation is called “Prehab” and is supported in the research.
After your surgery or radiation therapy it is recommended in the research that you continue with supervised physical therapy for 12 weeks.
Thereafter, you can continue independently and have a PT appointment if necessary.
Our physical therapists have recommended prehab for well over ten years. In fact, a research study published in 2010 by Centemero et al. found that 44.1% of men who completed prehab were continent (did not lose urine anymore!) at one month after their surgery, whereas only 20.3% of men who had no intervention were controlling their urine. If you are planning to have a radical prostatectomy or prostate radiation, we recommend you come to physical therapy before your procedures. In these appointments we will cover a lot of ground and help begin your process of pelvic floor muscle recovery, before anything has been cut or irradiated. If you are interested in learning more about our PT after a prostate procedure, call us at 616-516-4334 or contact us here to submit your questions.
Do you want to improve your urinary incontinence following prostatectomy? Go to pelvic physical therapy!
87% of patients who receive individual pelvic physical therapy after robotic prostate surgery experienced improvement in their incontinence!
When 87% of the patients who complete physical therapy after prostatectomy have significant improvement in their urinary incontinence, we have to ask ourselves why our patients are not routinely referred to physical therapy. This 87% data comes from a December, 2019 study that reviewed 5 years of patients who had developed urinary incontinence following robotic-assisted prostatectomy. The patients completed pelvic physical therapy with a specialized PT, trained in prostatectomy rehabilitation and pelvic floor dysfunction. We are here to provide you with pelvic PT to recover from your prostatectomy or radiation treatment. When the data find that 87% of men benefit from physical therapy, we encourage you to be among that group of men. Call 616-516-4334 or contact us here to learn more about either our in-person physical therapy or telehealth rehabilitation following prostatectomy or radiation therapy.
Our PTs provide you therapy that trains both the fast-twitch and slow-twitch pelvic floor muscle fibers.
The pelvic floor muscles have different types of muscle fibers in them. Roughly 30% of the muscle fibers are fast twitch, like sprinters. They need to work very quickly and automatically when you move, lose your balance, cough or require fast-acting pelvic floor muscle control. Our pelvic PTs include pelvic floor muscle training that helps rehabilitate these fast-twitch muscle fibers, in addition to the slow twitch fibers. We are here to support your recovery and provide you a structured and effective program to improve bladder and bowel control. If you are interested in learning more about our PT for pelvic floor muscle training, call us at 616-516-4334 or contact us here to submit your questions.
Do you want to improve your pelvic pain? Go to pelvic physical therapy!
Pelvic Physical Therapy after prostatectomy has also been found to reduce pelvic pain. You may need to learn how to relax your pelvic floor muscles.
In this same study that helped urinary incontinence, 27% of the patients also had pelvic pain related to tense pelvic floor muscles. The patients in this study were taught how to relax their pelvic floor, which resulted in better function of the muscles, improved urinary control and improvement in pain. We will determine if you also need to relax your pelvic floor muscles or need to strengthen them. We create a PT program specific to your needs. If you would like to learn more about how you can work with one of our licensed physical therapists, who specialize in physical therapy after prostatectomy or radiation therapy, reach out to us at 616-516-4334 or contact us here.
A Pelvic Physical Therapy Evaluation after Prostatectomy will Help You Begin Your Pelvic Floor Muscle Training
Our patients who have a prostatectomy or radiation therapy for prostate cancer receive a physical therapy evaluation of their pelvic floor muscles to determine their status.
Your treatment will be gentle, customized to your ability, effective at improving pelvic floor muscle control, reducing pain, stiffness and incontinence. Call 616-516-4334 to learn more.
We work within your comfort levels and do not conduct internal exams when you are in the early stages post-op or after radiation. We can check your pelvic floor muscles with simple external methods. The physical therapy we offer to rehabilitate following prostatectomy or radiation therapy can truly improve your quality of life. Pelvic floor dysfunction, urinary incontinence, erectile dysfunction and pelvic pain can be challenging to resolve, but our PTs are experienced in evaluating and treating prostatectomy and radiation therapy patients to design an individualized recovery program for you. To learn more about how you can work with one of our licensed physical therapists, who specialize in physical therapy after prostatectomy or radiation therapy, reach out to us at 616-516-4334 or contact us here.
All of our licensed physical therapists are fully trained in general orthopedic physical therapy and treat any area that may be contributing to chronic pelvic pain, overactive bladder, urinary incontinence, post-void dribbling or other issue.
Your pelvic floor dysfunction and bladder problems may be compounded by a bad back, an arthritic hip or other problem. To effectively rehabilitate your prostatectomy issues, we will also treat these other areas that bother you. Our licensed physical therapists have experience rehabilitating knees, hips, back pain, neck pain and more. We also have specialization in treating chronic pelvic pain, whether it is related to chronic prostatitis, prostatectomy surgery or any other condition. If you would like more information about physical therapy to treat pelvic floor dysfunction, urinary incontinence or other issues after prostatectomy, you can reach our staff at 616-516-4334 or contact us here.
Why we provide holistic physical therapy treatment to your ribs, back, abdomen, hips and pelvis when you are recovering from prostate surgery
We are pelvic health physical therapy specialists. Treating men, women and kids who have all varieties of pelvic problems is our focus and we have many years’ experience & post-graduate training specific to our patients’ needs. We have found, after years of doing this work and keeping up with best practices, that to fully rehabilitate your pelvic floor, bladder control, bowel control, erectile function and pelvic pain, that you need whole body treatment. If you would like to learn more about how you can work with one of our licensed physical therapists, who specialize in physical therapy after prostatectomy or radiation therapy, reach out to us at 616-516-4334 or contact us here.
Our PTs will address:
- Your posture, because if your ribcage doesn’t orient optimally on top of your low back and pelvis, you are higher risk for urinary incontinence, for example.
- You scar tissue. We will gently treat scar tissue in your abdomen because this can impair nerves, digestion or can cause you pain.
- Your hip mobility. We work to improve your hip mobility because some of the pelvic floor muscles are hip muscles, so we need to treat your hips.
- Your lower back, thoracic spine and neck. We also treat your back, including your neck, thoracic spine or lumbar spine because stiffness in these areas or issues with fascial restrictions can influence bladder and bowel function and pelvic floor control.
- Your balance. We work to improve your balance because your pelvic floor muscles are postural muscles are need to react to loss of balance, so balance exercises help to train your pelvic floor and bladder control.
If you are interested in working with our pelvic physical therapists before or after your prostatectomy, call our office to speak with one of our staff. We can be reached at 616-516-4334 or contact us here.
How a phone consult with our pelvic PTs may benefit you
We’ve been doing this work for years. It is our experience that men are not advised by their urology team how they can rehabilitate their bladder control, bowel control (common following some radiation procedures) and erectile function. Our PTs can advise you on important aspects of how to recover from a prostate cancer surgery or radiation. In a phone consult we cover what to expect, what to watch out for, components of a prostate recovery program and how to find a pelvic PT who is trained in male pelvic health (many have female-specific training and don’t work with men). With phone consults, we are providing you guidance, advice and information about how to proceed to optimize your situation. Men have told us it gives them hope, direction and confidence going forward. If you may be interested in a phone consult, call us at 616-516-4334 to learn more or contact us here.
I had a phone consult call this week and the gentleman remarked “I appreciate you helping me, this was really great!”
At the end of the call I asked him, “was this helpful to you?” Here was his response:
“You’ve given me a lot of information that I didn’t get from my oncology team. They were great and I feel I received good care from them. I think I’m doing fairly well and don’t have incontinence now, but I also want to know how to prevent it. I didn’t know where the pelvic floor muscles were located and you helped me understand this. Also, no one talked to me about preserving erectile function. No one explained that my radiation could cause problems down the line and what to look for. I’ve taken a lot of notes and now know what to look for when I find a pelvic PT near my home. I appreciate you helping me, this was really great.”
Physical therapy after prostatectomy works to improve your quality of life! That’s our ultimate goal.
Pelvic physical therapy after prostatectomy or radiation therapy can help improve your quality of life and speed up the time it takes to get control of your urine, helps decrease pain, advises you on methods to preserve and enhance erectile function and addresses scar tissue, your back, hips and balance. Our PTs specialize in this care and consider it an honor to help you in your recovery. Each visit is private and customized to your needs; you are welcome to bring your spouse or partner to your visit. It is our hope that you feel empowered, encouraged and on the right path towards urinary control, fecal continence, erectile function and getting back to your active life. If you would like more information about our pelvic physical therapy program after prostatectomy, you can speak with one of our staff at 616-516-4334 or contact us here.
Peace,
Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT specializing in treating men who experience pelvic conditions including prostate cancer, urinary incontinence, fecal incontinence, chronic pelvic pain, testicular pain, hip and spine conditions.
If you have questions, call us to talk with one of our staff members at 616-516-4334 or contact us here.
_______________________________
You may be interested in reading more about our physical therapy in these articles we’ve written:
Pelvic PT for Testicular Pain (Orchialgia) in Grand Rapids
What Can Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy Help With?
What is High Tone Pelvic Floor Dysfunction?
________________________________
References:
Centemero A, Rigatti L, Giraudi D, Lazzeri M, Lughhezzeni G, Zugna D, Montorsi F, Rigatti P, Guazzoni G. Preoperative pelvic floor muscle exercise for early incontinence after radical prostatectomy: a randomised controlled study. Eur Urol. 2010;57:1039–43.
Christen WG, Gaziano JM, Hennekens CH. Design of Physicians’ Health Study II: A randomized trial of beta-carotene, vitamins E and C, and multivitamins, in prevention of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and eye disease, and review of results of completed trials. Ann Epidemiol. 2000;10:125–134.
Milios, J.E., Ackland, T.R. & Green, D.J. Pelvic floor muscle training in radical prostatectomy: a randomized controlled trial of the impacts on pelvic floor muscle function and urinary incontinence. BMC Urol 19, 116 (2019).
Scott KM, Gosai E, Bradley MH, et al. Individualized pelvic physical therapy for the treatment of post-prostatectomy stress urinary incontinence and pelvic pain. [published online December 5, 2019]. Int Urol Nephrol. doi: 10.1007/s11255-019-02343-7.
Shikanov SA. A prospective report of changes in prostate cancer related quality of life after robotic prostatectomy. J Psych Oncol. 2011;29:1157–67.
Stark JR, Perner S, Stampfer MJ, Sinnott JA, Finn S, Eisenstein AS, Ma J, Fiorentino M, Kurth T, Loda M, Giovannucci EL, Rubin MA, Mucci LA. Gleason score and lethal prostate cancer: does 3 + 4 = 4 + 3? J Clin Oncol. 2009 Jul 20;27(21):3459-64.
Weber BA, Roberts BL, Mills TL. Physical and emotional predictors of depression after radical prostatectomy. Amer J Mens Health. 2008;2(2):165–71.
