Enlarged Prostate Urination Problems Could Be Eased by Sitting

Men with urination problems as a result of enlarged prostate may be better off sitting rather than standing to urinate, according to a recent systematic review and meta-analysis.

Ype de Jong, MD, and colleagues at Leiden University Medical Center in Leiden, The Netherlands, analyzed data from 11 studies that included healthy men and those with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). Among men with LUTS, a sitting position during urination was associated with a significantly lower post-void residual volume (PVR) compared with standing, the researchers reported in PLoS One (2014;9:e101320). Maximum urinary flow rate was increased and voiding time was decreased in the sitting position compared with standing, but these differences were not statistically significant. Among healthy men, urination position had no significant effect on urodynamic parameters.

“In patients with LUTS, an improved urodynamic profile approaching the effect of alpha-blockers is found in the sitting position,” the authors concluded. “Incorporating the positive effect of this voiding position in the management of LUTS could have a synergistic effect on improvement of urodynamics in this group of patients.”

---