Impotence and genital numbness in cyclists

Cyclists often complain of genital numbness and even of impotence. The purp ose of this study was to determine if perineal compression during cycling c auses changes in the penile blood supply, impotence and penile numbness. Fo rty healthy athletic men with a mean age of 30 +/- 5.3 years took part in t he study. Transcutaneous penile oxygen pressure was obtained using a device consisting of a modified Clark pO(2) electrode, attached to the glans of t he penis. All men were measured in a standing position before, in a seated and standing position during and in a standing position after cycling. Addi tionally, a detailed interview was carried out with each man. The penile bl ood supply - which correlates with the transcutaneous pO(2) at the glans - decreased significantly in over 70 % of the test subjects during cycling in a seated position. Cycling in a standing position did not show any alterat ion in the penile blood supply as compared to the values measured before ex ercising. Numbness of the genital region was reported by 61 % of the cyclis ts. 19 % of cyclists who had a weekly training distance of more than 400 km complained of erectile dysfunction. The results of the present study showe d that there is a deficiency in penile perfusion due to perineal arterial c ompression. This could be a reason for penile numbness and impotence in lon g-distance cyclists. Therefore, we suggest restricting the training distanc e, and taking sufficient pauses during the course of prolonged and vigorous bicycle riding, in order to avoid penile numbness and impotence.