nelle-@earthlink.net
I read the NYTimes article and others that came out a number of yrs ago
on this subject. I'm not a urologist but it's hard to know what to make
of it all. I can imagine there are many cylist rider variables that
weren't studied unless the researchers were cyclists themselves or knew
cycling well. In regard to osteoporosis, I was told once by an
endocrinologist that cycling put a lot of stress on bone. This woman was
obese herself. I am a physician like she is, not an endocrinologist,
but I knew way more than she did about exercise and cycling. Though
they are now reporting that cyclists do lose calcium and therefore need
to take in more than the average person, there still isn't much data on
serious recreational cyclists like most of the OBRA crowd. Studies are
often done on elite athletes, occasional on teens.
A huge nod YES to Tre Hendricks note below!!! There have been a number
of studies showing that men who are more fit have much less impotence.
It's all about blood flow.
Ellen Michaelson, MD
HealthMax, LLC
Primary Care Specialists
2050 NW Lovejoy, #1
Portland, OR 97209
(503)243-6614
jakebigham wrote:
Yeah - hear-hear. I agree about staying reasonably fit and my libido
has never suffered from riding, but then I rarely do more than 200
miles in any given week- average is more like 100- so I don't think I
spend enough time in the saddle to worry. I have changed my saddle
fit to a more nose down position however and I notice that I no
longer get any numbness ever.
On Oct 7, 2005, at 6:06 PM, Tre Hendricks wrote:
I wonder if the data showing that cyclists who ride a ton have
greater incidence of impotence was conducted on training riders or
riders who are in a rest period. Hormones play a big role.
Overtraining kills sex drive. Likewise, stopping training after
doing so for long periods can depression, which often comes along
with reduced sex drive. My dad led a poor lifestyle with no exercise
and died of a heart attack at 49. I can guarantee you that he isn't
having any sex. I'll take my chances being fit and healthy on my
bike.
---- Original Message ----
From: jakeb-@mac.com
To: ob-@topica.com
Subject: RE: [OBRA Chat] Mojo and saddles
Date: Fri, 7 Oct 2005 16:18:27 -0700
A delicate topic perhaps... Have you seen this latest article on
mojo
and bike saddles? I know this topic appears from time to time but
this study seems more serious than the more anecdotal evidence/
studies of the past.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/04/health/nutrition/04bike.html?
incamp=article_popular
reprint below in case the link doesn't work:
?
October 4, 2005
Serious Riders, Your Bicycle Seat May Affect Your Love Life
By SANDRA BLAKESLEE
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.
"You get used to riding without the nose," he said. "I can do
everything, including ride with no hands."
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