Mountain Biking - Scrotum Damage

That will grab your attention, eh? Check it out:

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=570&ncid=753&e=3&u=/nm/20021202/sc_nm/health_fertility_dc

Thoughts???

I think this study was funded by a suspension manufacturer to help drive up sales! J/k

L8R

"We believe that extreme mountain biking results in semen alteration, which may have an impact on fertility," said lead author Ferdinand Frauscher of University Hospital in Innsbruck, Austria.

Ah heck, I make up for it with frequency.

Judging from your Avatar, I feel sorry for your wife/girlfriend!!!!!!

L8R

:D I'm only slightly less energetic than the dancing banana.

So we can say mountain bikers are a dying breed?

The females of the species will be forced to search out roadies.

Boys, wear bright colored jerseys and lower your cadence.

:p

I probably have the most damage from hucking stuff.......I always smash my nuts into my seat, or sometimes just roll onto them. OUCH!!!:eek:

Originally posted by KleinMp99
I probably have the most damage from hucking stuff.......I always smash my nuts into my seat, or sometimes just roll onto them. OUCH!!!:eek:

Ahh crap...that hurts...

Doesn't sound like a problem to me...kids take time away from biking...and soccer :roflmao:

Originally posted by Maelstrom


Ahh crap...that hurts...

funny you say that maelstrom, seeing that you like pain!!!:D

Originally posted by bac
That will grab your attention, eh? Check it out:

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=570&ncid=753&e=3&u=/nm/20021202/sc_nm/health_fertility_dc

Thoughts???

My thoughts are that this is an old troll. I remember seeing a cover of Bicycling Magazine running with this story about five years ago (probably longer, given how long it takes to hit the newsstands in this country). Let me guess, some 74-year-old had a bit of trouble getting it up after a ride?

Of course, it would be interesting to see how many non-riding 74-year-olds had that problem.

Originally posted by Chris L
Let me guess, some 74-year-old had a bit of trouble getting it up after a ride?

:roflmao:

My thoughts are that this is an old troll. I remember seeing a cover of Bicycling Magazine running with this story about five years ago (probably longer, given how long it takes to hit the newsstands in this country). Let me guess, some 74-year-old had a bit of trouble getting it up after a ride?

actually Chris, this story is a little different. it's not talking about impotence (not being able to get it up) like the old stories, but about actual damage to the sperm-making structures resulting in lower sperm quality.

the "old story" is about reduced quality sex life --- but you can still father children.

this story is about reduced sperm quality and thus potentially reduced ability to father children --- without regard to quality of sex life (impotence)

i personally think it's possible --- as a kid/teenager i slapped my nuts on the center bar a few times REALLY hard b/c my bike was too big for me and straddling the center bar... i do think it is possible that trauma from major wipe-outs can cause problems, but i find it hard to believe that just riding on a trail causes severe damage in general ---- but that said, i have had at least 2 MTB accidents this year where i slapped said area on the seat or bike frame during a crash - obviously not a good thing!

Originally posted by Airborne


funny you say that maelstrom, seeing that you like pain!!!:D

I enjoy pain but not THERE ;)

Originally posted by nathank

i personally think it's possible --- as a kid/teenager i slapped my nuts on the center bar a few times REALLY hard b/c my bike was too big for me and straddling the center bar... i do think it is possible that trauma from major wipe-outs can cause problems, but i find it hard to believe that just riding on a trail causes severe damage in general ----

So in other words, "you need a correct sized frame and the seat at the correct height". I'm sure that's been mentioned on the forum a few times, too. Oh yeah, and try not to crash too often! My point is that this "study" has used something like "scrotum damage" to get everyone's attention without actually telling us anything we didn't already know. Not to mention the fact that there are plenty of other activities apart from cycling that can cause problems.

Well, the my skin down there is certainly rather tough. I always thought it would be a cool party trick to attach hooks and hang from the ceiling - like Richard Harris in "A Man Called Horse".

Sounds a lot like those stories that were in Bicycling, since someone brought that up earlier. Just one more thing to make non cyclists think that riding results in impotence. Great. I remember the conversations the first time:

"Oh, you ride a bicycle?"
"Yep"
"Hm. Sorry to hear that. Have you read that article about.."
"Yep"
"Any truth to that?"

If it wasn't family, I would illustrate the point rather creatively. I can see this being a problem for some, but it'll be generalized to everyone that rides a mountain bike, and a lot of the general population will think that it applies to all cyclists. Guess I better get my long balloons out again so I can explain it to people.

Last year I had bruised my paranium. You may prefer the taint. I had to stop riding for a month to get back to a non painful function. That sux.

This impotenince thing, well that is another story. They say that cycling increases the labido. Well if I am going to shoot blanks and increase my "drive" then you could derive that cycling is a natural form of male birthcontrol/spanish fly.
Just too bad the girls here in Houston look down on anyone over the age of 14 that still own a bike. They are missing out.

HA HA HA thats Bullony about riding and potency!!!

Ive spent probobly the most time in the saddle over the last year and a half, since before I was 16.... and Mme is suffering terrible Morning Sickness as I now write...

From a mailing list I am on ....

"In any case, it does not sound like this is a longitudinal study--i.e. they did not follow the group over time to see that increased mountain biking was associated with a lowering of sperm count. Nor was it a controlled experiment--they didn't randomly assign people to be mountain bikers, or not to be mountain bikers. So there could be a whole host of other explanations--it could be that people with lower sperm counts are attracted to mountain biking for some reason, though I won't speculate...

In any case, these kinds of studies have popped up from time to time for both road and mountain. I'm never that convinced it's a real problem. Getting the right kind of saddle and proper positioning make a big difference. So does getting out of the saddle occassionally on long rides. If you're constantly numb, you're doing something wrong. Seems like a common sense issue to me."

It doesn't really say how the subjects were tested as the control and experiment groups. There are too many other variables which can be factored into the experiment which would result in swayed and biased data. Now if we saw how the experiment was conducted and monitored, it might make more sense.