Compared to men with prostate cancer receiving standard therapy, those who engaged in resistive and aerobic exercise programs in groups had improved sexual function.
Recent research showed that men having prostate cancer who who engaged in supervised resistance and aerobic exercise had increased erectile dysfunction and intercourse pleasure compared to those who did not.
The study’s findings, which were presented at the ASCO Breakthrough Meeting in 2023, also demonstrated that self-managed psychosexual treatment did not result in further improvement for this patient cohort.
According to Daniel Galvao of the Physical activity Medical Sciences Research Institute at Edith Cowan University in Perth, Australia, “one of our study suggests these folks are probable to gain advantages coming from oversight physical activity that enhances their sexual well-being health and that exercise should be considered a vital component of treatment for prostate cancer.”
The purpose of this study was to compare the impact of exercise and psychosexual treatment on the sexual health of men with cancer in the prostate.
Galvao stated in the announcement that sexual dysfunction is a typical, upsetting, and ongoing adverse effect of prostate cancer treatment. Nearly half of patients with prostate cancer report lacking requirements for sexual health care, highlighting the insufficiency of current medical treatments to address the need for treating sexual dysfunction after prostate cancer therapy.
To do this, researchers looked at information from 112 prostate cancer patients who had expressed concerns about sexual dysfunction while having treatment in the past or at the present.
The exercise regimen with psychosexual treatment (36 patients), the usual care (37 patients), or a six-month course of group-oriented resistance and aerobic activity were randomly assigned to the patients.
Men exercised in fitness clinic at a university three days a week as part of the workout schedule. Men who were allocated to psychosexual treatment undertook a self-management intervention to address their sexual and mental health.
Throughout the trial, researchers kept an eye on a number of variables, including sexual wellness, which was evaluated using a global scoring system, physical function, body composition, and muscle strength.
Researchers found that, when compared to standard treatment, exercise alone enhanced erectile function, which they deemed to be above minimally clinically meaningful differences. Contrary to typical care, exercise increased intercourse satisfaction.
Self-managed psychosexual treatment did not lead to further advancements in these areas, according to the abstract of the study.
Exercise enhanced physical outcomes and stopped the growth of fat mass as compared to standard treatment. It enhanced both lower and upper body muscle strength.
In a press release, medical oncologist and hematologist Dr. Peter Paul Yu said that “physical activity have been demonstrated previously to improve specific negative effects of prostate cancer treatment. Dr. Yu is also the director of studies on cancer at Palo Alto Medical Foundation in California and an expert for ASCO. This data increases the significance of exercising for individuals with prostate cancer by extending the positive effects of exercise to incorporate sexual dysfunction.