Common Questions · After prostate treatment · No. 43
Exercise, walking and getting outdoors again
Leakage is provoked by exactly the movements that make a life worth having. The adaptation men praise most is prized for concealment, not for the exercise.
By Mr Musaab Yassin, Consultant Urological Surgeon & Andrologist. Oxford and central London.
Stress urinary incontinence is often provoked by exactly the activities that make life healthy and enjoyable: walking quickly, lifting, golf, running, gardening or getting out of a chair. Qualitative studies show men reducing strenuous activity and social participation to avoid leakage.1 That adaptation is common, but it does not have to become permanent.
Why does exercise trigger leakage?
Movement increases abdominal pressure. After prostatectomy, the remaining sphincter and pelvic floor have to generate enough closure pressure quickly. Fatigue can also make leakage worse later in the day.
Should I stop exercising until I am dry?
Usually no. Early postoperative activity must follow surgical recovery guidance, but once cleared, gradual exercise is valuable for cardiovascular health, strength and wellbeing. The aim is to build activity while managing leakage—not to become sedentary.
What if exercise still requires several pads after a year?
That is clinically meaningful stress incontinence. At that point it is reasonable to quantify severity and discuss whether sling or AUS treatment could restore activity with less planning.
Why does getting back outdoors matter medically?
Because continence outcomes should not be reduced to pad count. If leakage prevents the physical activity that protects cardiovascular, metabolic and mental health, it has a wider consequence than wetness alone.
Bottom line
Do not let “avoid leakage” become “avoid life”. Use sensible containment and pelvic-floor rehabilitation during recovery, then seek specialist assessment if persistent stress incontinence continues to limit the activity you value.
Do not let avoid leakage quietly become avoid life. The cardiovascular and mental health costs of becoming sedentary after prostate cancer are real and they compound. If leakage is what stands between you and the activity you value, that is a reason to treat it, not a reason to give the activity up.
If this sounds like you
A first consultation is £295, and follow-up £190. It usually runs at least twenty minutes; allow up to an hour if you are likely to need a scan, a flow test, or blood or urine tests on the day. You do not need a referral to book privately, and you are under no obligation to proceed with anything.
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The 2 studies behind this page▾
- How Older Men Live with Stress Urinary Incontinence: Patient Experience and Navigation to Treatment — Shaw NM, Breyer B, Walter LC, et al.. Neurourology and Urodynamics. 2023. doi:10.1002/nau.25325
- Supervised pelvic floor muscle exercise is more effective than unsupervised pelvic floor muscle exercise at improving urinary incontinence in prostate cancer patients following radical prostatectomy – a systematic review and meta-analysis — Baumann F, Reimer N, Gockeln T, et al.. Disability and Rehabilitation. 2021. doi:10.1080/09638288.2021.1937717
Mr Musaab Yassin is a Consultant Urological Surgeon and Andrologist practising in Oxford and central London. FRCS (Urol). GMC 6118378. Reviewed August 2026.
This page gives general information and does not replace an individual assessment. Figures quoted come from published research and describe groups of patients rather than any one person — your own history, anatomy and priorities change what they mean for you.