Prostatitis is an inflammation of the prostate, which can result in a number of symptoms depending on the specific type. Inflammation can be caused by infections such as from bacteria and viruses, and from tension relating to stress and anxiety. There are four main types of prostatitis: chronic pelvic pain syndrome, acute bacterial prostatitis, chronic bacterial prostatitis, and asymptomatic prostatitis. Each one has its own associated causes.

The most common form of prostatitis by far (up to 95% of all cases) is now known as chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS), a condition characterized by mild to debilitating pain in the pelvic and genital region of men. For a long time, the cause of this form of prostatitis was thought to be bacterial, but in the last decade or so this theory has lost favor, due to a number of studies showing the same amount of bacteria in normal prostates as in ones with CPPS. The current theory is that it is a result of a combination of psychological, neuromuscular, anxiety, and stress factors. No single theory outweighs the others, but in general these factors are hypothesized to combine somehow and result in unconscious tensing of the pelvis, which then results in inflammation of much internal to the pelvis, such as the prostate.

Another common form of prostatitis is acute bacterial. The causes of this are due to a fairly straightforward bacterial infection of the prostate. The bacteria can be almost anything, usually a common type such as E. Coli or staph, and is often brought about by a urinary tract infection which then works its way into the prostate gland. Sever cases can be life-threatening. Treatment consists of a course of antibiotics.

The rarest type of prostatitis is chronic bacterial. Like with the acute version, the cause is bacterial. But a number of factors keep the infection ongoing. These causes can be due to inefficient urination, such as from enlargement of the prostate, or from prostate stones, a clumping of calcium in the prostate, or from a physical abnormality that keeps bacteria “trapped”. Any one of these can lead to a persistent infection, which is usually asymptomatic aside from recurrent episodes of apparent urinary tract infections.

Asymptomatic is another type of prostatitis that (as can be guessed), has no symptoms. Usually, this one is caused by a bacterial infection as well, and is only discovered via an elevated white blood cell count from other testing.