Dr. Adam Kibel explains how Kegel exercises, pelvic floor physical therapy, regular exercise, and maintaining a healthy weight can improve urinary continence and support a smoother recovery before and after prostate cancer surgery.
Dr. Adam Stuart Kibel:
Kegel exercises are incredibly important. The data would show that people that do Kegel exercises have their continence return sooner. Sometimes a physical therapist can be incredibly helpful before surgery. I find that a lot of men are not really in tune with how to exercise that sphincter, and they look online, and they try and look at a YouTube video, and they have some idea but they don't necessarily do it well. Others do it very well. It's highly variable. So meeting with a professional who knows how to exercise that sphincter can be very useful even before the surgery.
I think it works also after the surgery. Some people that are under a lot of stress, they're thinking, "I have cancer." They're trying to figure out how to manage this. They're not focused on the incontinence. They're focused on the fact they have cancer. What are we going to do about it? After the surgery, if you have incontinence, doing the physical therapy afterwards can also accelerate return of continence.
I encourage people to exercise. I encourage people to lose weight. I've never met a physician who isn't in favor of people losing weight and exercising, and I think it clearly helps people recover from surgery and helps improve continence.