Bicycle Saddles Without Protruding Noses Reduce Pressure Associated With Erectile Dysfunction Masure, Study Finds (June 30, 2004)—NIOSH Update
Prolonged Riding Linked
to Decrease in Erectile Measure in Bicycle Patrol Officers (October
2002)—NIOSH Update
City
of Long Beach Police Department Long Beach, California
Health Hazard Evaluation Report, HETA Number 2000-0305-2848
This document is available in pdf
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Nocturnal
Penile Tumescence and Rigidity Testing in Bicycling Patrol Officers
http://www.andrologyjournal.org/cgi/content/abstract/23/6/927
Journal of Andrology, Vol. 23, No. 6, November/December 2002. Page
links to full text, commentaries, and response to commentaries.
Abstract: A health assessment study was conducted
in response to complaints of groin numbness in a bicycling police
unit. Seventeen male cyclists were compared with 5 nonbiking men.
The cyclists rode an average of 5.4 hours per day, and 91% indicated
they experienced groin numbness on occasion. Each man wore the RigiScan
Plus Rigidity Assessment System for one normal sleep session. Pressure
measurements were also taken between the cyclist and the bicycle
saddle. The percentage of sleep sessions that recorded an erectile
event was significantly lower in the cyclists than it was in noncyclists
(cyclists 27.1%; noncyclists 42.8%; P = .008). This duration percentage
is negatively correlated with average hours a day that cyclists
rode their bikes (r = -.41; P = .05), the number of days a week
they rode (r = -.55; P = .009), and the average pressure exerted
on the nose of the bike saddle (r = -.39; P = .08). The other measures
of erectile quality (tumescence activity units [TAUs] and rigidity
activity units [RAUs] of both the base and tip of the penis) were
lower in the cyclists, but did not reach statistical significance.
The number of hours cyclists rode during the day of RigiScan Plus
assessment was negatively correlated with penis tip RAU (r = -.41;
P = .04), and tip TAU (r = -.45; P = .04). These data suggest that
prolonged bicycle riding may have negative effects on nocturnal
erectile function and indicate a need for innovative bicycle saddle
designs.
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