Comment by tpoacher
2 days ago
I read this with great interest, because about a decade ago, I was convinced I had prostatitis (but NHS screwed the diagnostic process up - the GP didn't do a digital rectal exam because the ultrasound would be more diagnostic anyway, and the ultrasound scan was cancelled because the GP didn't do a digital rectal exam which was part of the criteria for going through with the scan ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ), and ended up reading quite a bit about it, and how I might try to make things better for myself in the absence of antibiotics.
I ended up on this page which I no longer remember (something something prostatitis foundation maybe?), from which I remember two things.
The first was this turkish doctor, who against all advice was suggesting a "Brocolli juice therapy" as a prostatitis cure. Fast forward to 2025 and there's lots of studies supporting this. Anecdotally I tried this back then and it really helped the prostate pain I had at the time for months go away within a week.
The second, which is more relevant here, was this guy who had a very interesting hypothesis, that a lot of the prostate troubles are actually "musculoskeletal" in origin, and muscle imbalance / weakness of the iliopsoas muscles in particular. And that this imbalance affects venous return which "somehow" causes the condition. But he was just a lay person, and the "somehow" was unclear. So this completes that image perfectly. It's interesting that this article mentions the venous insufficiency link, and that veins rely on valves to direct flow, but doesn't mention the muscular link at all.
In any case, this person was saying that in his case, doing lots of iliopsoas stretching and exercises effectively 'fixed' his chronic prostatitis problems. So I've timidly started including a couple of iliopsoas stretching exercises before any workout I do. Anecdotally, I think it helps, but I can't know for sure. But thought I'd mention here in case someone shows interest or can make that link more solid.
PS. found the turkish doctor page (or at least a mirror of it): https://www.oocities.org/iastr/ebroc.htm
I wish I could find that comment about the iliopsoas ... but alas I think it's probably lost in the sands of time now.
UPDATE: Well what do you know. Found it: https://web.archive.org/web/20230203201759/https://prostatit...
(and https://web.archive.org/web/20230127101206/https://prostatit... more generally)
It also seems to me that a lot of “prostatis” cases have nothing one to do with bacterial infection but rather pelvic floor issues or is referred pain from spinal issues.
Men’s medicine is in the dark ages.
What exactly does the broccoli do? And why does it have to be boiled? I didn't get many details from the page above.
There have been many studies since, which probably provide more evidence and detail. But this guy's current explanation at the time is provided in the link where it says "needs to be boiled" (https://www.oocities.org/iastr/eboil.htm)
Quoting from the linked page:
> WHAT IS THE REASON THAT WE MUST CONSUME BOILED BROCCOLI?
> Fresh broccoli (unboiled) contains some enzymes that must be deactivated. The simple way to deactivate these enzymes is to boil the broccoli in water for 5 minutes. After boiling for 5 minutes, the enzymes will become inactive. If these enzymes aren't deactivated, the broccoli cannot successfully treat those suffering from BPH, prostatitis, or general urinary tract infections.
> Broccoli contains very important compounds. These compounds can only treat those who are suffering from BPH or prostatitis when these enzymes are deactivated. If this is not done, the enzymes which broccoli contains start a different metabolic reaction so that the efficiency is reduced.