Cycling Causes Impotence Article
10-14-05, 05:22 AM
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Cycling Causes Impotence Article
See a newly published article on cycling-related sexual importence attached below.
I wonder if us over 50 guys are even more susceptible to sexual importence from riding long hours in the saddle than younger guys? And how would one know if it's due to cycling or aging?
I wonder if you experience no numbness while riding is that a guarantee that no damge is being done?
Anyone ride on a saddle with no nose like the one described in the article below?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Original article is at https://houston.indymedia.org/news/2005/10/44282.php Print comments.
Serious Riders, Your Bicycle Seat May Affect Your Love Life
by SANDRA BLAKESLEE Tuesday October 04, 2005 at 07:29 AM
A raft of new studies suggest that cyclists, particularly men, should be careful which bicycle seats they choose.
A raft of new studies suggest that cyclists, particularly men, should be careful which bicycle seats they choose.
The studies add to earlier evidence that traditional bicycle saddles, the kind with a narrow rear and pointy nose, play a role in sexual impotence.
Some saddle designs are more damaging than others, scientists say. But even so-called ergonomic seats, to protect the sex organs, can be harmful, the research finds. The dozen or so studies, from peer-reviewed journals, are summarized in three articles in September's Journal of Sexual Medicine.
In a bluntly worded editorial with the articles, Dr. Steven Schrader, a reproductive health expert who studies cycling at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, said he believed that it was no longer a question of "whether or not bicycle riding on a saddle causes erectile dysfunction."
Instead, he said in an interview, "The question is, What are we going to do about it?"
The studies, by researchers at Boston University and in Italy, found that the more a person rides, the greater the risk of impotence or loss of libido. And researchers in Austria have found that many mountain bikers experience saddle-related trauma that leads to small calcified masses inside the scrotum.
This does not mean that people should stop cycling, Dr. Schrader said. And those who ride bikes rarely or for short periods need not worry.
But riders who spend many hours on a bike each week should be concerned, he said. And he suggested that the bicycle industry design safer saddles and stop trivializing the risks of the existing seats.
A spokesman for the industry said it was aware of the issue and added that "new designs are coming out."
"Most people are not riding long enough to damage themselves permanently," said the spokesman, Marc Sani, publisher of Bicycle Retailer and Industry News. "But a consumer's first line of defense, for their enthusiasm as well as sexual prowess, is to go to a bicycle retailer and get fitted properly on the bike."
Researchers have estimated that 5 percent of men who ride bikes intensively have developed severe to moderate erectile dysfunction as a result. But some experts believe that the numbers may be much higher because many men are too embarrassed to talk about it or fail to associate cycling with their problems in the bedroom.
The link between bicycle saddles and impotence first received public attention in 1997 when a Boston urologist, Dr. Irwin Goldstein, who had studied the problem, asserted that "there are only two kinds of male cyclists - those who are impotent and those who will be impotent."
Cyclists became angry and defensive, he said, adding: "They said cycling is healthy and could not possibly hurt you. Sure you can get numb. But impotent? No way."
The bicycle industry listened, said Joshua Cohen, a physical therapist in Chapel Hill, N.C., and the author of "Finding the Perfect Bicycle Seat." Manufacturers designed dozens of new saddles with cut outs, splits in the back and thick gel padding to relieve pressure on tender body parts.
Scientists also stepped up their research. Since 2000, a dozen studies have been carried out using sophisticated tools to see exactly what happens when vulnerable human anatomy meets the bicycle saddle.
The area in question is the perineum, between the external genitals and the anus. "When you sit on a chair you never put weight on the perineum," Dr. Schrader said. "But when you sit on a bike, you increase pressure on the perineum" sevenfold.
In men, a sheath in the perineum, called Alcock's canal, contains an artery and a nerve that supply the penis with blood and sensation. The canal runs along the side of a bone, Dr. Goldstein said, and when a cyclist sits hard on a narrow saddle, the artery and the nerve are compressed. Over time, a reduction of blood flow can mean that there is not enough pressure to achieve full erection.
In women, Dr. Goldstein said, the same arteries and nerves engorge the clitoris during sexual intercourse. Women cyclists have not been studied as much, he added, but they probably suffer the same injuries.
Researchers are using a variety of methods to study the compression caused by different saddles. One method involves draping a special pad with 900 pressure sensors over the saddle. The distribution of the rider's weight is then registered on a computer. In another technique, sensors are placed on the rider's penis to measure oxygen flowing through arteries beneath the skin. Blood flow is detected by other sensors that send a "swoosh" sound to a Doppler machine.
The research shows that when riders sit on a classic saddle with a teardrop shape and a long nose, a quarter of their body weight rests on the nose, putting pressure on the perineum. The amount of oxygen reaching the penis typically falls 70 percent to 80 percent in three minutes. "A guy can sit on a saddle and have his penis oxygen levels drop 100 percent but he doesn't know it," Mr. Cohen said. "After half an hour he goes numb."
Dr. Goldstein added, "Numbness is your body telling you something is wrong."
Today's ergonomic saddles have splits in the back or holes in the center to relieve pressure on the perineum. But this may make matters worse: the ergonomic saddles have smaller surface areas, so the rider's weight presses harder on less saddle, Dr. Schrader said. The perineum may not escape injury because its arteries run laterally and they are not directly over the cutouts. The arteries can come under more pressure when they come into contact with the cutouts' edges.
Thick gels on saddles can also increase pressure to the perineum, the studies found, because the material can migrate and form clumps in all the wrong places.
Just as many smokers do not get lung cancer, many cyclists will never develop impotence from bicycle seats, the scientists said. What makes one person more vulnerable than another is not known. Body weight seems to matter: heavier riders exert more pressure on saddles. Variations in anatomy may also make a difference.
Dr. Goldstein said he often saw patients who were stunned to learn that riding a bicycle led to their impotence. One middle-aged man rode in a special cycling event to honor a friend and has been impotent since. A 28-year-old who came in for testing, Dr Goldstein said, showed the penile blood flow of a 60-year-old. A college student who had competed in rough cycling sports was unable to achieve an erection until microvascular surgery restored penile blood flow.
"We make kids wear helmets and knee pads," Dr. Goldstein said. "But no one thinks about protecting the crotch."
The safest seats and saddles, experts say, force the rider to sit back firmly on the sit bones so the perineum is protected.
Dr. Schrader advocates saddles that do not have noses. After finding that traditional saddles reduced the quality of nighttime erections in young policemen who patrol on bicycles, he has persuaded scores of officers in several cities to use noseless seats and is now studying the officers' sexual function over six months.
Nunzio Lamaestra, a 46-year-old police officer in San Antonio, said he appreciated his noseless bicycle saddle.
I wonder if us over 50 guys are even more susceptible to sexual importence from riding long hours in the saddle than younger guys? And how would one know if it's due to cycling or aging?
I wonder if you experience no numbness while riding is that a guarantee that no damge is being done?
Anyone ride on a saddle with no nose like the one described in the article below?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Original article is at https://houston.indymedia.org/news/2005/10/44282.php Print comments.
Serious Riders, Your Bicycle Seat May Affect Your Love Life
by SANDRA BLAKESLEE Tuesday October 04, 2005 at 07:29 AM
A raft of new studies suggest that cyclists, particularly men, should be careful which bicycle seats they choose.
A raft of new studies suggest that cyclists, particularly men, should be careful which bicycle seats they choose.
The studies add to earlier evidence that traditional bicycle saddles, the kind with a narrow rear and pointy nose, play a role in sexual impotence.
Some saddle designs are more damaging than others, scientists say. But even so-called ergonomic seats, to protect the sex organs, can be harmful, the research finds. The dozen or so studies, from peer-reviewed journals, are summarized in three articles in September's Journal of Sexual Medicine.
In a bluntly worded editorial with the articles, Dr. Steven Schrader, a reproductive health expert who studies cycling at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, said he believed that it was no longer a question of "whether or not bicycle riding on a saddle causes erectile dysfunction."
Instead, he said in an interview, "The question is, What are we going to do about it?"
The studies, by researchers at Boston University and in Italy, found that the more a person rides, the greater the risk of impotence or loss of libido. And researchers in Austria have found that many mountain bikers experience saddle-related trauma that leads to small calcified masses inside the scrotum.
This does not mean that people should stop cycling, Dr. Schrader said. And those who ride bikes rarely or for short periods need not worry.
But riders who spend many hours on a bike each week should be concerned, he said. And he suggested that the bicycle industry design safer saddles and stop trivializing the risks of the existing seats.
A spokesman for the industry said it was aware of the issue and added that "new designs are coming out."
"Most people are not riding long enough to damage themselves permanently," said the spokesman, Marc Sani, publisher of Bicycle Retailer and Industry News. "But a consumer's first line of defense, for their enthusiasm as well as sexual prowess, is to go to a bicycle retailer and get fitted properly on the bike."
Researchers have estimated that 5 percent of men who ride bikes intensively have developed severe to moderate erectile dysfunction as a result. But some experts believe that the numbers may be much higher because many men are too embarrassed to talk about it or fail to associate cycling with their problems in the bedroom.
The link between bicycle saddles and impotence first received public attention in 1997 when a Boston urologist, Dr. Irwin Goldstein, who had studied the problem, asserted that "there are only two kinds of male cyclists - those who are impotent and those who will be impotent."
Cyclists became angry and defensive, he said, adding: "They said cycling is healthy and could not possibly hurt you. Sure you can get numb. But impotent? No way."
The bicycle industry listened, said Joshua Cohen, a physical therapist in Chapel Hill, N.C., and the author of "Finding the Perfect Bicycle Seat." Manufacturers designed dozens of new saddles with cut outs, splits in the back and thick gel padding to relieve pressure on tender body parts.
Scientists also stepped up their research. Since 2000, a dozen studies have been carried out using sophisticated tools to see exactly what happens when vulnerable human anatomy meets the bicycle saddle.
The area in question is the perineum, between the external genitals and the anus. "When you sit on a chair you never put weight on the perineum," Dr. Schrader said. "But when you sit on a bike, you increase pressure on the perineum" sevenfold.
In men, a sheath in the perineum, called Alcock's canal, contains an artery and a nerve that supply the penis with blood and sensation. The canal runs along the side of a bone, Dr. Goldstein said, and when a cyclist sits hard on a narrow saddle, the artery and the nerve are compressed. Over time, a reduction of blood flow can mean that there is not enough pressure to achieve full erection.
In women, Dr. Goldstein said, the same arteries and nerves engorge the clitoris during sexual intercourse. Women cyclists have not been studied as much, he added, but they probably suffer the same injuries.
Researchers are using a variety of methods to study the compression caused by different saddles. One method involves draping a special pad with 900 pressure sensors over the saddle. The distribution of the rider's weight is then registered on a computer. In another technique, sensors are placed on the rider's penis to measure oxygen flowing through arteries beneath the skin. Blood flow is detected by other sensors that send a "swoosh" sound to a Doppler machine.
The research shows that when riders sit on a classic saddle with a teardrop shape and a long nose, a quarter of their body weight rests on the nose, putting pressure on the perineum. The amount of oxygen reaching the penis typically falls 70 percent to 80 percent in three minutes. "A guy can sit on a saddle and have his penis oxygen levels drop 100 percent but he doesn't know it," Mr. Cohen said. "After half an hour he goes numb."
Dr. Goldstein added, "Numbness is your body telling you something is wrong."
Today's ergonomic saddles have splits in the back or holes in the center to relieve pressure on the perineum. But this may make matters worse: the ergonomic saddles have smaller surface areas, so the rider's weight presses harder on less saddle, Dr. Schrader said. The perineum may not escape injury because its arteries run laterally and they are not directly over the cutouts. The arteries can come under more pressure when they come into contact with the cutouts' edges.
Thick gels on saddles can also increase pressure to the perineum, the studies found, because the material can migrate and form clumps in all the wrong places.
Just as many smokers do not get lung cancer, many cyclists will never develop impotence from bicycle seats, the scientists said. What makes one person more vulnerable than another is not known. Body weight seems to matter: heavier riders exert more pressure on saddles. Variations in anatomy may also make a difference.
Dr. Goldstein said he often saw patients who were stunned to learn that riding a bicycle led to their impotence. One middle-aged man rode in a special cycling event to honor a friend and has been impotent since. A 28-year-old who came in for testing, Dr Goldstein said, showed the penile blood flow of a 60-year-old. A college student who had competed in rough cycling sports was unable to achieve an erection until microvascular surgery restored penile blood flow.
"We make kids wear helmets and knee pads," Dr. Goldstein said. "But no one thinks about protecting the crotch."
The safest seats and saddles, experts say, force the rider to sit back firmly on the sit bones so the perineum is protected.
Dr. Schrader advocates saddles that do not have noses. After finding that traditional saddles reduced the quality of nighttime erections in young policemen who patrol on bicycles, he has persuaded scores of officers in several cities to use noseless seats and is now studying the officers' sexual function over six months.
Nunzio Lamaestra, a 46-year-old police officer in San Antonio, said he appreciated his noseless bicycle saddle.
10-14-05, 05:49 AM
#3
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A bunch of years ago I got a cool new lightweight saddle for my bike. A couple months later it occured to me that I hadn't had an erection in over a week. The saddle came off immediately, to be replaced with a wider one. No joy. I had to get off the bike completely for a couple of weeks before I got any functionality back. Thereafter, whenever I rode the bike more than about 40 miles per week, I had problems.
That was at the ripe old age of 42. There had never been any numbness or discomfort, things just stopped working. I ride recumbents now.
That was at the ripe old age of 42. There had never been any numbness or discomfort, things just stopped working. I ride recumbents now.
10-14-05, 05:57 AM
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Check out our recent thread:
https://www.bikeforums.net/fifty-plus-50/143946-serious-riders-your-bicycle-seat-may-affect-your-love-life.html
My personal reaction?
How can I say this appropriately?
At age 65, having bicycled about 25,000+ miles the past 7 years, my libido is definitely NOT a problem, and this includes being on a whole lot of meds this past year, and living with just 2/3rds of my heart working. In other words, I've never needed Viagra.
And that is on three different "standard" saddles. All original issue and pretty cheap, comparatively.
Drives me a bit "nuts" at times. Weight lifting seems to even enhance the "problem." For me, the "benefits" of the exercise are much more important than any negative effect of the seat
https://www.bikeforums.net/fifty-plus-50/143946-serious-riders-your-bicycle-seat-may-affect-your-love-life.html
My personal reaction?
How can I say this appropriately?
At age 65, having bicycled about 25,000+ miles the past 7 years, my libido is definitely NOT a problem, and this includes being on a whole lot of meds this past year, and living with just 2/3rds of my heart working. In other words, I've never needed Viagra.
And that is on three different "standard" saddles. All original issue and pretty cheap, comparatively.
Drives me a bit "nuts" at times. Weight lifting seems to even enhance the "problem." For me, the "benefits" of the exercise are much more important than any negative effect of the seat
10-14-05, 08:43 AM
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Ah, how many kids does Lance have?
Still, for those of us who have ridden bikes for years with out any ill effects, good to know that there is an issue.
Still, for those of us who have ridden bikes for years with out any ill effects, good to know that there is an issue.
10-17-05, 05:06 PM
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This problem is real, having lived through it. No sex and hardly any going pee. That's a big problem. I tried all the trick seats and no help. The few that made any difference gave me lots of wrist pain. Now I ride a Sun EZ Sport (Long wheel base recumbent) and no more problems. No more pain either. bk
10-18-05, 05:20 PM
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This is very old, recycled news. SOME seats, in SOME orientations, are harmful to SOME men's urogenital systems. Just as one cannot reliably recommend shoes or a helmet for another rider, one cannot generalize regarding saddles and male health.
What works for me: Brooks tensioned leather saddles, Serfas ARC "anatomical"
What doesn't work for me (pain in perinaeum): narrow padded vinyl Marin saddle
The only generalization I am willing to make is that I have never heard of a 'bent rider having problems in this area, so that may indeed be the ultimate surefire solution for folks like bkaapcke. For the rest of us, there are lots of options, some much better than others. Also, do not underestimate the importance of proper saddle adjustment, i.e., height and inclination angle.
What works for me: Brooks tensioned leather saddles, Serfas ARC "anatomical"
What doesn't work for me (pain in perinaeum): narrow padded vinyl Marin saddle
The only generalization I am willing to make is that I have never heard of a 'bent rider having problems in this area, so that may indeed be the ultimate surefire solution for folks like bkaapcke. For the rest of us, there are lots of options, some much better than others. Also, do not underestimate the importance of proper saddle adjustment, i.e., height and inclination angle.
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"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069
"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069
10-18-05, 05:40 PM
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And, get off the saddle occasionally while riding.
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10-21-05, 07:35 AM
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There are also groundbreaking medical studies pointing to erectile dysfunction (ED) as an early warning sign of hardening of the arteries, which of course causes heart attacks and strokes. ED has long been associated with hardening of the arteries, but now the medical community believes ED showing up in otherwise healthy people might be the "alarm" that signals they are at high risk for heart attack and stroke, since the blood vessles leading to the penis are smaller and more vulnerable to blockage.
We all know that bicycling can help prevent hardening of the arteries. Therefore, it is possible that bicycling actually helps prevent ED by preventing arterial blockage.
How about that for irony?
We all know that bicycling can help prevent hardening of the arteries. Therefore, it is possible that bicycling actually helps prevent ED by preventing arterial blockage.
How about that for irony?
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