A reproductive expert says scientists must now shift attention from cause to intervention in the relationship between bicycle riding and sexual health.
Steven Schrader, a supervisory research biologist at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, made the suggestion as a guest editorialist in the September issue of The Journal of Sexual Medicine.
He said it is time to shift current scientific focus from the question of whether there's a causal relationship between bicycle riding on a saddle and erectile dysfunction and concentrate on intervention.
Schrader was asked to review three new articles published in the current issue of The Journal of Sexual Medicine. All three studies reported high pressures in the perineum while straddling a saddle compress and temporarily occlude penile blood flow. They also hypothesized lining vessels of the compressed arteries become damaged, thus leading to potential permanent artery blockage.
Said Schrader: "The next steps are quite clear. Effective strategies based on sound ergonometrics and urogenital physiologic principles and testing are needed to reduce the risk of erectile dysfunction from bicycle riding."
Copyright 2005 by United Press International
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