Time to shine a spotlight on Mens' Health
For most men, getting their car serviced regularly is a given, as is booking in a service if it starts to make unusual noises. Yet for some reason, they have a different attitude when it comes to getting themselves checked out on a regular basis or when their body starts to “make unusual noises.”
Taking an active role in your health and wellbeing shouldn’t be seen as a chore nor as a sign of weakness and certainly the stigma around Men’s Health has reduced over the years. Men, on average are more likely to die by suicide, from respiratory/blood or colon cancers, or from heart disease when compared to Women. New research from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare shows that
- 1 in 2 men aged between 18-64 get enough exercise (AIHW 19/3/19)
- 7 in 10 mean are overweight or obese
- 1 in 2 males have a chronic disease, experience a mental health problem and have experienced sexual difficulty
- Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men
- Chronic pelvic pain/prostatitis accounts for 90% of prostatitis cases in outpatient clinics and is characterised by chronic pelvic symptoms lasting longer than 3 months (J Urol)
All too often, getting early symptoms checked out by your GP or health professional, are neglected. When in reality, we know that early intervention and early diagnosis is the key to improved health outcomes.
Prostate surgery can have a huge impact on quality of life, particularly continence and sexual function. These are side effects that no one wants to talk about because of their nature, and all too often men suffer in silence. The good news is you can do something about it! Like women, men have a pelvic floor too, and like all muscles, your pelvic floor can be re-trained and strengthened after surgery to reduce the likelihood of suffering these side effects.
Our resident Pelvic Floor expert; Brooke; has plenty of experience in treating men prior to and after prostate surgery. A session with her usually involves a discussion around bladder and bowel habits, advice on how best to manage any ongoing pain and the provision of a pelvic floor exercise program specific to your needs that can improve your continence function, reduce your pain and improve your sexual function.
Taking an active role in your health can be as easy as doing the following;
- Book in your 10,000km service – make a GP appointment today
- Tell someone how you’re feeling and don’t be embarrassed to let someone know you’re not ok
- Take up exercise; be it a new sport, go for a daily walk, or start a lunchtime futsal tournament at work; it all helps! Our Clinical Exercise classes can be a great way to get back into exercise as they’re tailored to your needs and being a small group, you are well monitored by our expert Physios and get the support of your other class attendees
- Pelvic floor exercises are for everyone. Take care of your prostate and your pelvic floor to ensure long term continence and sexual function is maintained
- Share the love – get your mates involved too. Why not ensure everyone is taking care of themselves
With a significantly reduced life expectancy than women, it’s about time we became more diligent in looking after each other and improving these statistics for men. So what are you waiting for? Call your health professional today to get your annual service booked in and to get you on the road to better health and wellbeing.
References
Indian J URol. 2016 Jan-Mar 32(1) 34-39
https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/men-women/male-health/contents/who-are