Sexual Dysfunction
The previous section described how the habitual use of sitting toilets depresses the pelvic floor and causes a "stretch injury" to the pudendal nerve. This injury has many potential consequences – including incontinence, prostate dysfunction and chronic pelvic pain.
A recent article in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology (May, 2005) described another common result: female sexual dysfunction. According to the researchers, this problem affects up to 43% of women in the United States. Reuters Health issued the following report:
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Nerve damage may underlie female sex dysfunction
By Anne Harding
Fri Jun 17, 2005
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women with sexual dysfunction are more likely to have decreased tactile sensation in the genital area, according to researchers.
"Our data suggest that pudendal nerve impairment may play a role in sexual dysfunction in women," Dr. Kathleen Connell and colleagues write in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
However, causes of this nerve abnormality remain unclear, Connell of Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut told Reuters Health. "I think it's an area that we have to explore further because we don't have any good explanations. It's still sort of an enigma." ... [Full article]
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The explanation given in the gynecological disorders section above should help the doctors solve their "enigma." Once they understand the cause of pelvic floor nerve stretch injury, they can give their patients practical advice on preventing it.
Even though the study only tested women, a man's pelvic floor is also vulnerable, as explained in the prostate disorders section. Nerve damage is the most likely cause of male sexual dysfunction, as well.
Fortunately, damaged nerves can grow back when they are no longer subjected to daily abuse. By repairing the connection between the pelvis and the brain, one has a chance of regaining normal sexual function.
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