Riding your bike on a daily basis might be having a negative impact on your sex life according to an article recently published. However, before you panic, let’s discuss the science behind this statement.
If you take your bike out for a spin every now and then, there’s nothing you should really fear. However, if you constantly ride your bike to get around and for exercise purposes the solid seat of your bike may be causing damage to your pudendal nerve.
According to the stats, almost 18 million American men have suffered of ED or erectile dysfunction related symptoms. Whilst factors such as lack of sleep, an unhealthy diet, stress and an unhealthy lifestyle are amongst the most notable factors that contribute to ED, cycling is one that gets often overlooked.
As previously mentioned, going on a bike ride every once in awhile should not be a reason for concern, nonetheless, if you ride your bike every day and belong to the hardcore cycling crowd, your pelvic nerves may be withstanding more damage than they ever should. The pudendal nerves wrap around mof the lower bowel, the anus, the perineum and the lower genitals. Your bike’s solid seat could cause you a pudendal entrapment that may develop into chronic pain, numbness and sexual dysfunction.
Although this condition is rather uncommon, the risk is very real and the more you cycle the higher it is. Damage to the pudendal nerve can cause a complete loss of sensation in various areas of the groin and perineum. In spite of pudendal nerves being deep inside your body, the more serious cyclists are at risk due to the constant seat pressure that causes nerve compression and potential injuries and damage to the nerve.
However, your pudendal nerve can get damaged even if you don’t cycle. In fact, if you practice any kind of activity that involves having a lot of your body weight on a hard and narrow surface increases the risk of pudendal nerve damage. Biking is, of course the more common cause, and contrary to what you might believe other activities such as horseback riding, motocross or motorcycle riding in general is not risky because the seats are usually softer and broader. Does this mean you have to stop riding your bike?
Well, no. The solutions are way simpler than that, you can invest on a split bicycle seat that will protect your groin from nerve damage. Nevertheless, the cutout must match each rider particular physiology and fit the proper position on their bike. If you are a die-hard cyclist, it is advised that you try several different seats until you find one that feels comfortable and make sure that they are properly positioned on your bike.
If you suffer from ED and you think it might be related to pudendal nerve damage contact a specialist and find out if the damage is temporary or permanent and remember that this is not the most common cause for erectile dysfunction.
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