Men’s Health Month encourages men to pay attention to health issues

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - June is “Men’s Health Month.” The month is dedicated to enriching health and wellness for men.

The goal of “Men’s Health Month” is to increase awareness of health issues in men so they, and those around them, can better recognize those issues and stay healthy.

Physical Therapist Mike Ellis says men, in general, are not the best at staying on top of their health.

“Men are very prideful. We have a degree of, I hate to say it, arrogancy that we don’t want to get into pain. So we ignore early signs,” Ellis said. “In the orthopedic world, they’ll ignore a knee or a hip or even a low back problem when they should have gotten addressed earlier, to avoid a long recovery process.”

Forty percent of men 45 years old and older experience low testosterone, which can be the culprit behind a number of health ailments.

“One thing is loss of sexual drive or, or libido is something that men will experience. The other thing would be just overall loss of energy, loss of muscle mass, fatigue, and trouble sleeping are some of the main things that we see with this issue,” Dr. David Schull, a urologist with Baptist Health, explained.

Schull said this is an important conversation for men to have with their doctors.

“That’s always an uncomfortable subject,” Schull said. “But the fact is, you know, we’re all medical professionals, and it’s perfectly fine talking about it, you shouldn’t worry about it. You’re in a relationship with a physician where everything is confidential. So I would really recommend that you don’t be reticent in discussing that with your physician. And once you get talking about it, you can relax about it know that they’re here to evaluate and help you.”

Ellis agrees it’s important to be open with your doctor.

“Men need to be more honest,” Ellis said. “Tell the physician everything that’s going on in their life, whether it be a potential blood pressure issue, hypertension, obesity, and a regular exercise program with a balanced diet,” said Ellis. “The biggest advice is, to be honest with yourself.”

Copyright 2022 WSFA 12 News. All rights reserved.