Can exercise help men avoid prostate trouble? It’s a hotly debated question in research circles, now some new work adds to the ongoing debate about the role being active may play in terms of prostate cancer risk. U.S. researchers at Duke University Medical Center examined 190 male subjects who were having prostate biopsies at the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Before the procedure, subjects completed questionnaires on their physical activity. Levels of physical activity were assessed based on answers to questions on frequency, duration and intensity of exercise in a typical week. Activity was designated as mild (easy walking, yoga), moderate (brisk walking, tennis) or strenuous (running, swimming).

A full 58% of the subjects in the study were considered sedentary, exercising less than the American Heart Association recommendations of one hour a week. Another 46% were moderately active, leaving just 33% considered very active.

After making adjustments for age, race, weight, PSA score, family history of disease and other variables, the team found that men who exercised more each week were far less likely to have cancer on biopsy. “As the amount of exercise increased, the risk of cancer decreased,” explains study lead author Dr. Jodi Antonelli, a urology resident at Duke University Medical Center. The results of the work were published online in the Journal of Urology.

The good news is that even a small amount of exercise offered some reduced risk of prostate cancer.

Antonelli cautions, “This is a relatively small study – and it is not a screening study – so it may not be appropriate to apply our results to a general population. In addition, it is impossible to state that exercise alone was responsible for the benefits we observed because participants who exercised might also have engaged in other behaviors linked to better health, like adhering to good diet. That means we can not clearly identify a causal relationship.”

Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers in men, affecting one in six American males, though the disease is rare in a man under 40 years old. The cause remains unknown, but thanks to PSA testing, the vast majority of these cancers are found before any symptoms appear.

While it can be scary to face a life-threatening disease, today’s diagnostic tests make it possible for your doctor to find something early on, when cancers are most beatable. And though there is no “one size fits all” treatment for prostate cancer, you doctor can explain the options (medications, radiation therapy, surgery or simple monitoring) best for you based on the stage of your disease and your own unique situation.

If you’re worried about prostate trouble, either now or later in life, making exercise part of your daily routine can certainly do no harm, and may well end up proving itself quite helpful.

Before you start that workout plan, talk with your doctor to be sure exercise is okay for you – especially if you’ve been inactive for years. Once you get the go-ahead, start slow and build over time, and make an effort to get in a workout at least three times each and every week.

Remember too that exercise, when done properly, should not leave you sore, stiff or exhausted – if you are then you’re overdoing it and more likely to hurt yourself and sabotage your efforts of getting fit and avoiding prostate trouble.