Doctor of Physical Therapy with Peyronies

[PhysicalTheraPeyronies]

How is everyone? As you may have guessed I have peyronies and I am a physical therapist. I'm 31 years old so I am younger than most people with peyronies. My goal is to use my skills to improve the lives of patients with peyronies through conservative methods. I have free access to all sorts of modalities and medical databases to review clinical trials. I have thoroughly reviewed the research available for peyronies. Currently I am trying multiple treatments on myself as sort of a self case study. I am here to both help out where i can and gain further insight into this condition.  

[wonderbread1662]

Sorry to hear you have gotten this condition Physical. I think that is awesome that you are now trying to help others with this. May I ask what you are currently doing to improve your condition towards peyronies? Any promising clinical trials that are in effect that we might not know of?

Welcome to the forums Physical.

[Stabler]

Hello and welcome,

While I am sorry that you have to join our group for this reason, I think it is great that you are here to help. I am excited to read what kind of therapies you have researched and will be using for yourself. We actually have several young gentlemen here as young as 16 so any clinically proven data will be wonderful for these young men. I assume you have been to a urologist, can you tell us what they think of your methods as opposed to traditional methods now being used?

Thank you,
Mamma

[PhysicalTheraPeyronies]

Sorry to hear you have gotten this condition Physical. I think that is awesome that you are now trying to help others with this. May I ask what you are currently doing to improve your condition towards peyronies? Any promising clinical trials that are in effect that we might not know of?

Welcome to the forums Physical.

Yes, of course. I will make a thread for what I am doing/have done and the response this evening. In short, I am taking a physical therapy approach to my condition. This approach includes:

1.  communication with my wife for support
2. frequent erections - my wife assists me often, at least every 6 hours
3. Sexual intercourse only in missionary position
4. Daily intake of Acetyl-L-Carnitate and Vitamin E (i know vitamin E probably doesn't do anything)
5. Gentle stretching at area for 30 seconds, two sets, 3 times a day (probably going to swap to penile traction soon)
6. Low-Level Laser 5 minutes per day
7. Aerobic Exercise - 30-45 minutes of moderate exercise 5 days a week

It's early on, but there is definitely some big improvements in pain, and minor in appearance!

[PhysicalTheraPeyronies]

Full quote deleted. Please click the 'reply' instead of the 'quote' button.

I appreciate the kindness you show towards the men on this forum. I think it makes a big difference to hear support from women as well.  

I will look into your informative threads and add any research that is not present.  The doctor of physical therapy curriculum includes training on article appraisal. There are different grades of evidence in scientific/medical research. The typical progression is to work from the bottom of the hierarchy up. In other words, the newest emerging therapies typically do not have high level research. High level research is usually conducted after a series of lower level studies have been done. That being said, peyronies is not directly life threatening so it probably is not a top priority in terms of research grants etc.

One thing I am doing that is a little less studied is low level laser therapy. I found one case series on this where 11 men were treated with low level laser for peyronies. This showed good results in several aspect of peyronies, with one individual having complete resolution of symptoms. The problem was that, after the study stopped follow up showed that the improvements did not stick. Almost all patients again had progression of symptoms after therapy stopped. This being said, the study is of relatively low scientific rigor (no blinding or control, small sample size) and we don't know what would have happened if there was longer low level laser treatment.  None the less, I'm trying it because the study reported that there were no adverse effects and noone was worse off than when they started so I figure the risk is low. I have easy access to the very expensive machine at work so I don't have to pay for anything so it makes sense to try.  

[Stabler]

Well I am fairly new to this forum I have been here couple months I think now I joined in support for my guy. I want to learn all I can to help with this disease. It just kind of turned out that Im the only active woman posting at this time, to my knowledge anyway, So I have kind of adopted all the guys and try and take care of them the best way I can. I cheer them on and offer support when needed or asked for.

Everyone here is very knowledgeable about the disease I am sure they will find your input helpful.

Hugs
Mamma

[PhysicalTheraPeyronies]

Full quote deleted. Please click the 'reply' instead of the 'quote' button.


My wife is a big help as well. Thankfully she is here for me 100% and supports me no matter what happens.

[wonderbread1662]

Thanks for answering my questions Physical. I hope you find that your treatments help with your condition. If your results turn out to be positive or negative please let us know. The more we know what helps and what doesn't then the better off we will all be when it comes to peyronies.

I wish you luck, and your wife sounds like a total keeper. It looks like you choose well.  

[Stabler]

Physical,

Having the support of your wife is very important for both her and yourself (in my opinion) It is also very important for you to REMEMBER that she is there for you. I say that because as I read through older posts from women that use=d to be in the forum, they spoke of their spouses or partners withdrawing, or not sharing/connecting with them, when they can be your biggest line of help. I hope that all of the men here remember this  

Also as a side note please remember the guidelines about "quoting" here on the boards. you can read about it in the How to post section How to post - Peyronies Society Forums

Thank you

Mamma

[goodluck]

Thanks for your willingness to share your approaches as you try a PT approach.  You may also want to add Co Q 10 to your oral support as well as add some anti-inflamatory supplements or better yet diet.  Some think Peyronies is the effects of an autoimmune disease.   There is an autoimmune diet that is a based on the paleo diet.

Good Luck

[PhysicalTheraPeyronies]

My original post was on July 6th, 2015.  https://www.peyroniesforum.net/index.php/topic,6595.0.html

I know I am only  a case study however here is my results.

I do not have peyronies issues any longer.  The condition improved over the time since I posted. I do have a very mild bend I did not have before. There is no pain or palpable plaque. for half a year or more I have had sex in whatever position that was comfortable. I never did stop having sex but just limited to positions that felt comfortable. My penis appearance being slightly different does not bother me at this point and I have sex without thinking about peyronies.

We will never know what would have happened if I did nothing. I am not saying my self-treatment cured my condition but I am saying that you don't  necessarily have to go all-out with injections and prolonged traction devices to get a satisfactory result.

I did purchase a traction device. I did not use it. I found that it caused rumination and catastrophizing thoughts about my condition. As did the thought of getting injections into my penis. For me, I felt the battle was both physical and mental. These feelings made me more depressed and instead I decided to focus on overall well-being both physically and psyhologically. To me, walking around with a weird device strapped to my penis made feel terrible.

Cold Laser  and Class 4 laser treatments are something to be considered. I wonder if these are viable for treatment. I believe I also saw a study suggesting heat therapy. In the past I also thought about utilizing iontophoresis with acetic acid to see if it could reduce calcification of a plaque as it has been shown to do so in plantar fasciitis.  Anyhow, if anyone wants to discuss anything with me please post. I'll try to check back regularly.  

[Arabia]

Hi PTP,

Great to hear that your Peyronie's has resolved with self-treatment.

What do you think about using therapeutic ultrasound on the area of thickening prior to application of traction?  This could be done at a clinic or one could purchase a home based unit which are now available for self-treatment.  

What advantages does the laser have over ultrasound?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.  

[LeeBee69]

Hey PTP,

Welcome!

What's kind of laser are you using? Frequency and output, etc.

Cheers,
LeeBee

[Paolo]

PTP, you advised on a previous quote (Low-Level Laser 5 minutes per day), can you add to LeeBee69's reply a short protocol of how you used the laser also, please  

[Christopher1]

I would like to learn more about the cold laser.

[james1947]

Christopher

A Google search regarding cold laser will give you 100 to 1000 answers

James

[PhysicalTheraPeyronies]

It's been awhile since I have posted. I still am in the same place Peyronies wise. I'm going to frequent this board more regularly. I feel bad I never responded however I'm now wondering if my profession can offer more to people with Peyronie's. I'm wanting to talk with a urologist and see if I can get a case study going for physical therapist treating Peyronie's.

I now own my own successful physical therapy clinic this making the acquisition of equipment and freedom to experiment possible.

[PhysicalTheraPeyronies]

Hi PTP,

Great to hear that your Peyronie's has resolved with self-treatment.

What do you think about using therapeutic ultrasound on the area of thickening prior to application of traction?  This could be done at a clinic or one could purchase a home based unit which are now available for self-treatment.  

What advantages does the laser have over ultrasound?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

I've read about heat being effective in a study I believe. There is little proof of this but the claim is that the laser will stimulate mitochondria and healing processes via photobiomodulation. Ultrasound is just heat. Due to the size of the penis I suspect ultrasound would be similar to any other type of applied heat. Moist hot packs can penetrate an inch, which should be sufficient for any plaque as they are superficial anyhow.  

[PhysicalTheraPeyronies]

Hey PTP,

Welcome!

What's kind of laser are you using? Frequency and output, etc.

Cheers,
LeeBee

It was a class 3b laser I was using. It had no settings to adjust. I'd have to look up the parameters of that specific device.  

[PhysicalTheraPeyronies]

PTP, you advised on a previous quote (Low-Level Laser 5 minutes per day), can you add to LeeBee69's reply a short protocol of how you used the laser also, please  

A couple of years late here. With 3b laser it is not required to move the laser. I would place it on the affected area 10 times adjusting position and angle slightly every 30 seconds.  

[PhysicalTheraPeyronies]

Christopher

A Google search regarding cold laser will give you 100 to 1000 answers

James

Agreed, many claims I am skeptical of. Actually I'm skeptical of the laser in general but when your penis has acute Peyronies you'll try about anything.  

[PhysicalTheraPeyronies]

I actually did use coQ10. Forgot to mention that. Thanks!