Beware prostatitis
You’ve no doubt heard about prostate cancer. But are you aware of prostatitis? You’ll know about it quickly if you suddenly develop extreme pain in your privates. This condition causes an agonizing array of sexual, urinary and pelvic-floor pains that can make a man’s daily life a living hell, says a report in the May issue of Best Life.
The most common sign of prostatitis is a severe pain in your penis, rectum and the vicinity. It occurs most often in men in their 30s and 40s, and stress appears to contribute to the disorder. Some experts believe it is triggered by a urinary-tract infection, yet many cases are non-bacterial.
At the first sign of such pain, see a urologist who is up to date on the latest research and treatments for prostatitis. If he is, he’ll give you the National Institutes of Health patient questionnaire or the Stanford protocol, a six-day treatment designed to help patients using what is called paradoxical relaxation.
For more information on prostatitis, go to these sites:
* Pelvicpainhelp.com (the Stanford protocol)
* Urologyhealth.org
* Chronicprostatitis.com
* Prostatitis.org
Fixing back pain
Back pain is the leading cause of limits to physical activity for people under age 45. Though most back strains heal themselves, the problem can worsen if you herniated or ruptured a disc, according to a story in the May issue of Women’s Health.
But that doesn’t mean you should sit around, take pain pills and mope until the pain goes away, says Jeffrey Goldstein, a spine surgeon at the New York University Hospital for Joint Diseases. You need physical activity.
If your physician approves, try these steps to avoid another back injury:
* Work your abs three times or more a week for at least 10 minutes at a time. Do exercises that strengthen the obliques (on the sides of your torso), the abs in front and the back muscles.
* Stretch your muscles at least 5 minutes a day before bed and at the end of a workout.
* When lifting an object, face the same direction as your hips, with equal weight on each leg.
* Sit straight with your knees lower than hip level (to maintain the natural curvature of your back).
* Don’t carry a purse that weighs more than 10 percent of what you do.
Taming fast food
When you simply must eat at a fast-food joint, be sure to select the healthiest foods they offer. Find those items at a handy Web site created by Shape magazine, shape.com/grabandgo. You’ll be surprised by the things you can eat.
For example, select the barbecue pork sandwich at Dairy Queen and you’ll ingest just 280 calories and 8 grams of fat. That’s much better than the healthy-sounding grilled turkey sandwich (at 450 calories and 37.5 grams of fat.)
The site also contains information for Taco Bell, Arby’s, Burger King, KFC, Wendy’s, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Chili’s, Applebee’s, Chick-Fil-A and Denny’s.
