Does Enlarged Prostate Cause Back Pain

Mechanical Vs Inflammatory Back Pain

Some back pain comes from some dysfunction in the structures that connect to your back, including the spine, muscles, and discs. This is called Mechanical or Acute back pain.

Mechanical back pain can happen at any time in your life and generally come on quickly and lasts for a short period, up to a few months. It can also often be eased with rest and care from your doctor or other healthcare practitioner, like a physiotherapist.

If youve ever thrown your back out, or had a bout of sciatica, youve experienced mechanical pain.

However, there is another cause for back pain that cant be traced back to a mechanical source.

Inflammatory back pain is caused by an autoimmune response, when your body attacks healthy tissues, causing inflammation and pain.

The pain comes on slowly and persists for many months or years. The pain and stiffness are usually worse in the morning but improves with some movement and light exercise.

Inflammation can be localized to your back and hips, but usually the inflammation causing pain is systemic, which means you may also experience pain or swelling in other parts of your body. Common areas include the eyes, ankles, and neck.

With your immune system working so hard against your body is also exhausting. Its normal for someone experiencing inflammatory back pain to feel exhausted much of the time.

What Aggravates An Enlarged Prostate

Some foods to avoid include: Red meat: Research suggests that going red meat-free may help improve prostate health. In fact, daily meat consumption is believed to triple the risk of prostate enlargement. Dairy: Similarly to meat, regular consumption of dairy has been linked to an increased risk of BPH.

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Treatment For Benign Prostate Hyperplasia

Treatment for benign prostate hyperplasia can involve:

• Lifestyle changes, such as limiting a night-time consumption of liquids, avoiding caffeine and alcohol, avoiding medication such as diuretics, decongestants and antihistamines and getting more exercise, as well as dietary improvements, such as eating more fibre, avoiding artificial sweeteners and sweetened beverages.
• Medication, such as alpha-blockers or 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors.
• Interventions, such as the Urolift® system, a non-surgical proprietary device that uses tiny implants to lift the prostate away from the urethra and thereby relieve BPH symptoms that result from pressure on the urethra.
• Surgical procedures, such as a prostatectomy , transurethral microwave thermotherapy , prostate laser, and Transurethral Resection of the Prostate .
• Herbal prostate treatments, such as saw palmetto extract. Saw palmetto extract is made from the fruit of the saw palmetto, which is native to the southeast and Gulf coasts of North America and may potentially assist in reducing urinary frequency and increasing urinary flow.

Treatment of prostate cancer can involve:

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Spinal Tumors And Sciatica Symptoms

Tumors, masses, or growths that are benign or cancerous may cause sciatica-like signs and symptoms if they occur in the lower spine or on the sciatic nerve . Tumors of any type are a medical emergency and must be monitored and/or treated immediately. Depending on the patients age, overall health condition, and level of tolerance, surgical or other medical treatment may be performed.

Tumors growing within the vertebrae can make the spinal bones weak, causing them to break and collapse. Watch:Metastatic Spinal Cancer Video

Advanced Prostate Cancer Symptoms

If the disease has progressed to late stages of prostate cancer, a number of possible complications can produce more severe symptoms. The cancer spreads to other parts of the body. Depending on where the cancer has spread, the patient may exhibit different symptoms. If the cancer has spread to the bone, the patient can experience bone pain, sensitivity, and even fractures. Kidney problems can occur if the cancer spreads to the ureters that carry urine from the bladder.

As with any condition, the exact set of symptoms experienced by a prostate cancer patient depend on a variety of factors including the:

• Patients age

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When To Contact A Medical Professional

• Less urine than usual
• Back, side, or abdominal pain
• Blood or pus in your urine

Also call if:

• Your bladder does not feel completely empty after you urinate.
• You take medicines that may cause urinary problems, such as diuretics, antihistamines, antidepressants, or sedatives. DO NOT stop or change your medicines without talking to your provider.
• You have tried self-care steps for 2 months and symptoms have not improved.

Richard Describes His Symptoms He Had To Get Up Several Times During The Night To Pass Urine He

I was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2005. I had all the symptoms of somebody whos suffering from prostate cancer, difficult to pee, getting up several times during the night, bursting to go and then not able to go properly, and this lasted, you know quite a few weeks stroke months, went to see my GP, who sent me for a blood test to test my PSA level, I didnt know what that was at the time. So I got the results of that test, he suggested that there may be a problem with my prostate, I was sent to the hospital for them to do a biopsy. They did a biopsy, which, a very unpleasant procedure but necessary, and then got the results of that confirming that I had prostate cancer, and then was given the options by the consultant. After discussing it with my wife, decided the best thing to do was have the prostate removed which I did in July 2005. The operation itself was pretty straightforward, but the recovery was very difficult. Theres a lot of side effects, a lot of incontinence, erectile dysfunction, and its quite a long recovery period, so that was very difficult, much more so than the operation itself, but in the years after that its just got a lot better and everythings sort of, all my functions returned to normal, including the erectile dysfunction problem after two years, and since then Ive been fine, I have an annual check, and my PSA level is zero, which it should be, and Ive been fine ever since.

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Prostatitis: Inflamed Prostate Can Be A Vexing Health Problem

• By Patrick J. Skerrett, Former Executive Editor, Harvard Health

When it comes to prostate trouble, the lions share of attention goes to prostate cancer and an enlarged prostate. A third condition, prostatitis, flies under the radar even though it affects up to one in six men at some point in their lifetimes. It triggers more than two million visits to doctors and untold agony each year.

Prostatitis, which means inflammation of the prostate gland, is an equal opportunity disorder. Unlike prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia , which predominantly affect older men, prostatitis affects men of all ages.

Prostatitis refers to a loose assemblage of syndromes characterized by urinary problems such as burning or painful urination, the urgent need to urinate, trouble voiding, difficult or painful ejaculation, and pain in the area between the scrotum and rectum or lower back. Although it causes some of the same symptoms as BPH and can occur at the same time, prostatitis is a separate condition.

Some types of prostatitis are caused by bacterial infection. These cases are often accompanied by the classic symptoms of infection, such as fever, chills, and muscle pain along with urinary problems. As a result, they are relatively easy to diagnose and treat, and they usually respond well to antibiotics. Unfortunately, such straightforward forms of prostatitis are the minority.

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What Are The Possible Complications

Urinary symptoms do not worsen in everyone. Serious complications are unlikely to occur in most men with an enlarged prostate. Complications that sometimes occur include:

• In some cases, a total blockage of urine occurs so you will no longer be able to pass urine. This is called urinary retention. It can be very uncomfortable and you will need to have a small tube inserted to drain the bladder. It occurs in less than 1 in 100 men with an enlarged prostate each year. See the separate leaflet called Urinary Retention.
• In some cases, only some of the urine in the bladder is emptied when you pass urine. Some urine remains in the bladder at all times. This ongoing condition is called chronic retention. This may cause repeated urine infections, or incontinence .

Note: the risk of prostate cancer is not increased. Men with a benign prostate enlargement are no more or less likely to develop prostate cancer than those without benign prostate enlargement.

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Eating Diet And Nutrition

Researchers have not found that eating, diet, and nutrition play a role in causing or preventing prostatitis. During treatment of bacterial prostatitis, urologists may recommend increasing intake of liquids and avoiding or reducing intake of substances that irritate the bladder. Men should talk with a health care provider or dietitian about what diet is right for them.

Bloated Stomach And Prostate Cancer

A bloated stomach occurs in a prostate cancer victim usually after the carcinoma is treated by prostatectomy one might consider it as a normal side effect of prostate cancer surgery.

Prostate cancer is not considered to be curable once the mutated cells of the organ have had the chance to metastasize too far out regions of the body ? bone and lymph nodes even a locally metastasized disease constitutes a lot of more trouble than a localized tumor in the prostate.

However, a radical prostatectomy to remove the gland or parts of it while the tumor is still confined to the organ is considered to be a very decisive treatment for the condition, in which the cancer is not even expected to return for as far out as ten year after the procedure. As such it is a common treatment for early stage prostate cancer, or for cancer that has failed to respond to radiation therapy. Usually it is a radical retropubic prostatectomy , in which the surgeon removes the prostate through an abdominal incision, but often a radical perineal prostatectomy is done, where the surgeon does the operation with incisions made in the perineum.

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How The Prostate Changes As You Age

Because the prostate gland tends to grow larger with age, it may squeeze the urethra and cause problems in passing urine. Sometimes men in their 30s and 40s may begin to have these urinary symptoms and need medical attention. For others, symptoms aren’t noticed until much later in life. An infection or a tumor can also make the prostate larger. Be sure to tell your doctor if you have any of the urinary symptoms listed below.

Tell your doctor if you have these urinary symptoms:

• Are passing urine more during the day
• Have an urgent need to pass urine
• Have less urine flow
• Feel burning when you pass urine
• Need to get up many times during the night to pass urine

Growing older raises your risk of prostate problems. The three most common prostate problems are inflammation , enlarged prostate , and prostate cancer.

One change does not lead to another. For example, having prostatitis or an enlarged prostate does not increase your risk of prostate cancer. It is also possible for you to have more than one condition at the same time.

Causes Of Rectal Discomfort

The causes of vague rectal discomfort may overlap with the causes of itching, pain, burning sensations, and rectal bleeding. In the majority of cases, the causes of rectal discomfort are mild conditions that can be readily treated. Changes in diet and other lifestyle measures may also help in preventing rectal discomfort.

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What Is Prostate Pain

Prostatodynia is the medical term for prostate pain. It may also include other sensations like prostate discomfort and is a sign of prostate problems. Pain and discomfort may be seen in all three of the main conditions affecting the prostate gland prostatitis, benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer. The pain may vary in severity and nature radiating to surrounding structures and extending to the lower back or even the tip of the penis.

At times, prostate pain may involve a large area of the lower abdomen or the entire pelvis. It is not uncommon for no pain to be present, especially in mild BPH and chronic prostatitis, with discomfort or pain only being reported during acute exacerbation and a secondary prostate gland infection.

Signs Of Prostate Cancer

• Abdominal pain: Pressure on the organs surrounding your prostate can cause lower abdomen pain and soreness.
• Anemia: Often prostate cancer patients develop anemia caused by bone marrow infiltration, androgen deprivation or treatment related toxicity.
• Bloody semen: Inflammation or infection of the prostate gland can cause blood in the semen.
• Bloody urine : Cancer of any part of the urinary tract including prostate cancer can cause of blood in urine. However, this can also be a symptom of other conditions such as kidney stones or urinary tract infections.
• Fatigue: A number of factors can cause fatigue in cancer patients. Treatments and medications, stress, depression, and lack of appetite are factors of fatigue.
• Problems urinating and incontinence: Anything that enlarges the prostate gland surrounding the urethra can obstruct the urethra, causing urination retention problems, trouble starting urination, incomplete emptying or a weak urine stream.
• Leg inflammation: The patient may experience leg inflammation or swelling if the prostate cancer tumor metastasizes into the bladder and blocks the urine is coming from the kidney.
• Lower back pain/Spinal compression: Lower back or hip pain can occur when bone metastasis occurs and the spinal cord is compressed.
• Weight loss: The functioning of the body, or treatments such as chemotherapy, can cause weight loss.

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Enlarged Prostate Treatments In The Pipeline

Researchers continue to investigate new therapies for enlarged prostates. Another category of drugs is under development, says Slawin. Weve come a long way in treating BPH. Its no longer the life-threatening disease it once was. Now, in treatment, were working on quality of life issuesââ¬Â¦ reducing side effects of treatment.

Also being studied is a procedure called water-induced thermotherapy , an experimental procedure that involves destroying excess prostate tissue utilizing heated water and an air-filled balloon, which protects normal prostate tissue. The procedure is performed with only local anesthesia. Results may not be fully apparent for three to four months. However, preliminary studies examining WIT have shown positive results, with a near doubling in urine flow. However, the American Urological Association has not thus far endorsed WIT as a viable treatment option for symptoms of BPH.

What Causes The Pain

We feel pain when our bones, muscles, organs, nerves or other parts of our bodies are damaged or irritated. Cancer which has spread into these areas might cause pain.

Sometimes pain can be due to cancer treatments. For example, radiotherapy to treat bone pain can sometimes cause your pain to get worse during treatment and for a few days afterwards. But this isnt very common.

Pain can also be caused by problems not linked to the cancer, such as an infection.

Your doctors and nurses will work with you to find out what is causing your pain and will talk to you about suitable treatments. There are effective ways to treat different types of pain.

Bone pain

If prostate cancer spreads to the bone, it can damage or weaken the bone and may cause pain. But not all men with cancer in their bones will get bone pain. Prostate cancer can spread to any area of bone around the body. It most commonly spreads to the spine. Pain in these areas can sometimes make it painful to walk and move around. The pain might remain in only one area, but over time it can spread to several parts of your body.

Bone pain is a very specific feeling. Some men describe it as feeling similar to a toothache but in the bones, or like a dull aching or stabbing. It can get worse when you move and can make the area tender to touch. Each mans experience of bone pain will be different. The pain may be constant or it might come and go. How bad it is can also vary and may depend on where the affected bone is.

Nerve pain

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Can A Kidney Stone Cause Pain In The Lower Abdomen

Kidney stones can cause extreme stomach pain and lower abdominal pain when they move through your urinary tract. Kidney stones are small buildups of mineral deposits that can form in your kidneys. Dr. Melissa Conrad Stöppler on MedicineNet says that kidney stones can cause excruciating pain in the lower abdomen, groin, side or lower back.

How Is Sciatica Related To Leg Swelling

Although there can be a correlation between sciatica and leg swelling, the cause is not always clear. Sciatica is a general term describing symptoms caused by compression of the sciatic nerve which starts in the lower back and runs all the way down the leg. In addition to pain in the lower back, compression of this nerve also causes radiating symptoms like tingling, numbness and muscle weakness in the hips, buttocks and legs.

Leg swelling is more commonly associated with fluid retention and circulatory issues, not nerve compression, so it is not typically listed as a sciatica symptom. However, sciatica and leg swelling can be connected because the pain and limited mobility from sciatica often lead to an inactive lifestyle that can cause fluid buildup and blood flow problems. If you have been living with sciatica and are also dealing with swelling in your legs, it is important to see your doctor for a clear diagnosis of what is causing both conditions. Learn more about the connection between sciatica and leg swelling in the following article.

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