TMBRA - Rider Board

[Anonymous]

I've seem to have a mild case of erectile dysfunction and Im concerned that it has been caused by years of cycling. I've never consistently eaten a low fat diet and have heard that a high fat diet could be the cause as we;;. I've got insurance but it does not seem to cover health issues such as this. Do you have any recommended courses of action regarding how to manuever the health care system so as to cost effectively handle such an issue?

[The Bike Doc]

Prolonged compression of the peroneal nerves and blood vessels that pass under the pubic bone to the penis can lead to erectile dysfunction. Road cyclist are more prone to this mallady fondly referred to as the DDD (Dreaded Dead Dingus). Off road riding DDD occurs much less due to the frequent changing of position and standing up that occurs with mountain bike riding. An effective cure for DDD for road riders is to convert to recumbent bicycles. See my article regarding the medical benefits of recumbent bicycles at http://www.bikeroute.com/BentMedBenefits.html for more detailed information.

As far as negotiating the insurance quagmire, start off with a referral from your primary doctor to a urologist. Once the urologist has evaluated you, he or she may determine whether or not the ED you are experiencing is due to the chronic compression from bicycling or if there are other factors such as high cholesterol, previously undiagnosed diabetes or other medical problems. With this information, then your doctors can more effectively decide what is the best treatment options for you and then make a plan for dealing with the insurance companies.

If you wish to make any adjustments on your mountain bike, make sure the saddle is not too high, that the saddle nose is horizontal or tilted slightly downward about 1-2 degrees at the nose. If you are riding a hard tail and cannot afford a full suspension bike, get a suspension seat post. Also look at saddles that have a relieved area under the pubic bone to help reduce pressure to that delicate area. Road bike adjustments the absolute best is switch to a recumbent. Check out www.bentrideronline.com and Recumbent Cyclist News for some good infromation about recumbents. I switched to them for road riding 10 years ago and have never regretted it. Off road, the mountain bike still rules and full suspension is the best option there. Maybe your doctors can convince your insurance companies it is a cheeper and healthier alternative for them to prescribe a new recumbent road bike and a full suspension mountain bike to keep you healthy and productive.

Thanks,
_________________
Paul K. Nolan, MD
AKA: The Bike Doc