Men With Prostate Cancer Experience Health Benefits by Playing Soccer

According to the Copenhagen Centre for Team Sport and Health, men with prostate cancer experience a variety of benefits while remaining active through playing soccer, as they discovered after a 12-week trial.

In light of the 2014 World Cup, researchers from the Copenhagen Centre for Team Sport and Health at the University of Copenhagen and the University Hospitals Centre for Health Care Research at The Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet conducted a study involving 57 men aged 43-74 years who had been undergoing treatment for prostate cancer for an average of three years.

These men were randomly assigned to a soccer training group or an inactive control group throughout the course of the 12-week study. The soccer training group was active twice a week for one hour each day. Compared to the inactive group, the researchers found that playing soccer for two hours a week helped the prostate cancer patients obtain bigger and stronger muscles, improve functional capacity, gain positive social experiences, and possess the desire to remain active.

"This is the first study of its kind in the world, and the results clearly show the potential of recreational football in the rehabilitation of prostate cancer patients," said project leader Julie Midtgaard, a psychologist at The Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, in this University of Copenhagen news release. "Just 12 weeks of football training resulted in the men regaining control and developing a unique exchange of feelings and recognition centered around the sport."

Published on Thursday in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports, "Football training improves lean body mass in men with prostate cancer undergoing androgen deprivation therapy," documented the findings of men playing soccer while also undergoing androgen deprivation therapy. The journal also published an article relative to the study that elaborated upon how soccer helps these patients regain pride in their bodies.

The physical and mental benefits the patients experienced throughout the 12-week study prompted the researchers to plan a more comprehensive examination in a natural setting. They hope to collaborate with the Danish Football Association and include over 300 prostate cancer patients to participate in local football clubs throughout Denmark.

The researchers also believe this soccer trial can help benefit other cancer patients, as they previously found that it was effective in preventing and treating lifestyle diseases.