Sexual Dysfunction - Hitting Men and Women Where It Hurts The Most...

You might wonder why this site includes a section on sexual dysfunction, a complex health issue with many possible causes.

SIDENOTE
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Sexual dysfunction affects both men and women. It can occur in different forms: desire dysfunction, arousal dysfunction, orgasmic dysfunction and pain dysfunction.

A recent US study has revealed that more than half of the population -- 52% of men and 63% of women -- could be suffering from it.
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The high incidence of sexual problems can be attributed to the widespread use of sitting toilets.

In the sections on pelvic-related ailments (Pelvic Floor Prolapse, Urinary Incontinence and Prostate Problems), you can read why a person using a sitting toilet has to strain for bowel movements.

It is this straining, while holding the breath, and pushing downwards with the diaphragm (the Valsalva Maneuver) that causes the pelvic floor to be pressed downwards repeatedly.

The pelvic floor is simply not designed to cope with this kind of abuse. Over time, the pelvic floor, weakened by the repetitive stress, gives way and descends.

With the descent of the pelvic floor, the pudendal nerve, which passes through the pelvic floor and carries signals between the brain and pelvic and sexual organs, could suffer from stretch injury.

Injury of the pudendal nerve can lead to serious consequences: urinary incontinence, prostate dysfunction, chronic pelvic pain, and yes, sexual dysfunction.

A recent article in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology described the connection between the pudendal nerve and female sexual dysfunction...

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Reuters News Agency (17 Jun 2005):

NERVE DAMAGE MAY UNDERLIE FEMALE SEX DYSFUNCTION

"Our data suggest that pudendal nerve impairment may play a role in sexual dysfunction in women," Dr. Kathleen Connell and colleagues wrote in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. However, causes of this nerve abnormality remain unclear, Dr. 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..." (Enigma: something that cannot be satisfactorily explained...a mystery, riddle, puzzle)

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What the researchers didn't understand was how the pudendal nerve could be injured in the first place.

If they had known about straining on the sitting toilet, they wouldn't have called described the "pudendal nerve - sexual dysfunction link" an enigma.

Although the research study had only involved women, a man's pelvic floor is also vulnerable. Pudendal nerve damage is a major cause of male sexual dysfunction as well (and prostate trouble). The pudendal nerve can slowly be restored when it is no longer subjected to daily abuse.

But only if the underlying cause -- repeated straining on sitting toilets -- is removed. A restored pudendal nerve would reinstate the flow of signals between the brain and sexual organs, and provide a good chance of regaining normal sexual function.

It can be difficult to accept this at first...that sitting toilets could affect the sexual health and happiness of men and women. But recall what Yale research team have discovered about the link between the pudendal nerve and sexual dysfunction:

"...pudendal nerve impairment may play a role in sexual dysfunction in women."

(More information about the pudendal nerve.)

Unknown to many, the use of chair-like toilets has caused much misery and suffering. But it is unlikely that things would improve much.

For sitting toilets are too entrenched for the world to abandon it now. As a result, in spite of the benefits of squatting, it will be an uphill task to convince everyone to change their toileting posture from sitting to squatting.

Many won't have a choice as they don't have squat toilets at home. Those who have been using sitting toilets their entire lives may see the need to squat, but would find squatting to be a difficult posture, as explained on this page about squatting facets.

But there is no other way but to squat. To protect against sexual dysfunction, one must regain the ability to squat and then find a way to switch from sitting to squatting for bowel movements.

What's the best way to do this? Install a squatting toilet.

However, if this is not possible, the easiest and quickest way is to use a toilet squatting platform or converter.

Find Out More...

Book Recommendation

If you want to have a better understanding of why the use of sitting toilets can have such a devastating effect on the health of men and women (as well as children), I would recommend that you read Nature Knows Best.

You can find out more about Nature Knows Best by visiting this page.

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Additional Reading

Squat Toilets -- Where In The World Can You Still Find Them?

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Go from Sexual Dysfunction to Pelvic Floor Prolapse,
Urinary Incontinence or Prostate Problems

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