If you're a man, cycling may be great for your overall health, but it can put the squeeze on your love life, suggest a number of new studies that are summarised in three articles in the September issue of the Journal of Sexual Medicine.
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These dozen or so new studies support earlier research that cycle saddles can cause impotence in men. Some of these latest studies concluded that the more a man rides, the greater his risk of impotence, or loss of libido, The New York Times reported.
Another of the new studies found that mountain bikers can suffer saddle-related trauma that results in the formation of small calcified masses inside the scrotum.
Specially designed saddles
Some kinds of saddles cause more damage than others and even saddles specially designed to prevent damage to the sex organs can be harmful, some of the researchers concluded.
The findings show there's no longer any question about whether bicycle saddles can cause erectile dysfunction, Dr Steven Schrader, a reproductive health expert who studies cycling at the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, wrote in an accompanying editorial.
"The question is, what are we going to do about it?" he said in an interview with the Times.
He stressed that the findings don't mean men should stop cycling and he added that men who cycle occasionally or only for short periods don't need to be concerned. As for riders who spend long hours in the saddle, the bicycle industry needs to design safer saddles for them, Schrader said. – (HealthDayNews)
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