It is not cycling, but excessive cycling that can cause erectile dysfunction. Charlotte Paroielle / Le Figaro
SEXOLOGY – Cyclists have more sexual problems than ordinary mortals. Dr. Catherine Solano explains why and the lessons we can learn from it on a daily basis.
Dr. Catherine Solano is a sexologist doctor. Trained in health ethics, she consults in urology at the Cochin hospital in Paris. She is co-founder of Doctical, a telehealth platform that supports people affected by cancer in their intimate health. She is the author of numerous books, including The Big Book of Puberty (Robert Laffont editions).
In 1997, an American urology professor, Irwing Goldwing, estimated that 100,000 Americans probably had transient or permanent erectile dysfunction due to cycling, classic or apartment, or even motorcycling. Horsemanship could also be involved as had already been noticed…Hippocrates at 4th century BC. More recently, a 2009 Scandinavian study found that after a 540 km bike race, 13% of participants had recognized temporary impotence (out of 160 runners surveyed). It would have lasted more than a week for half of them and more than a month for 15%.
But beware of shortcuts: it’s not the bike, but excessive cycling that is potentially at fault. It would be from…
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