Is Medication Causing Your Erectile Dysfunction?

If you've experienced erectile dysfunction, you are not alone. According to the National Institutes of Health over 30 million Americans frequently have problems developing or keeping an erection. Your risk for ED goes up as you age, so its very important to be proactive in keeping your sexual health brimming before you have an issue in the first place.

The are many situations and stressors that can affect libido and the ability to have an erection, however in many cases the problem may be "under the hood". There are four things that need to be working correctly in order for men to sustain a normal erection.

1. The stimulus from the brain must be present.
2. The nerves directing the process must be functioning at 100%.
3. The blood circulation to the penis must be adequate.
4. The veins must be able to trap and keep the blood within the penis.

In many cases the nerve supply from the brain or nerves of the spine can be inhibited due to poor posture habits, previous spinal injury, or arthritis in the spine. As a Peoria chiropractor, I have seen huge improvements in nerve function with simple chiropractic adjustments to align the joints of the spine. Chiropractic adjustments are a safe and conservative treatment that works to restore nerve function in many different areas of the body. In addition, many postural issues and limited mobility due to arthritis can be corrected or improved with simple strengthening exercises.

In some instances, the blood supply to the penis can be affected due to muscle tension that restricts blood flow to the pelvic organs. When you relax musculature with therapeutic massage and restore normal posture with strengthening exercises, you can increase the blood flow necessary to sustain an erection.

Many men are not able to rely on the prescription medication that traditional medical doctors suggest due to negative interactions with their current medication. However, a recent study revealed that men taking medications may actually have an  INCREASED risk of erectile dysfunction. The 2012 study published in BJU International found erectile dysfunction was more prevalent the more medications men were taking. 

Increased risk percentages are listed below.

Men taking 0-2 Medications had a 15.9% increased risk of ED.

Men taking 3-5 Medications had a 19.7% increased risk of ED.

Men taking 6-9 Medications had a 25.5% increased risk of ED.

Men taking 10+ Medications had a 30.9% increased risk of ED.

References

1. Londono et al. "Population-based study of erectile dysfunction and polypharmacy". BJU International , 2012; 100(2):254-9. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1464-410X.2011.10761.x/abstract 

Neck Wrenching Pain and Stiffness

How many times have you woken up in the morning with "a crick in your neck" or pain so bad that you just want to roll back over and go to sleep? You are not alone, it's estimated that 70% of people will have neck pain at some point in their lives. Neck pain is not only a literal pain in our necks but it can also effect productivity and our quality of life too. Many of those people will ignore their neck pain but some will get treatment from a doctor or other health care practitioner. But how do you know what treatment is right for you?

In a recent study published by the annals of Internal Medicine in January of 2012, researchers looked at treatments such as medication, home exercise, and spinal manipulative therapy (chiropractic adjustments) to find out what is most effective in the treatment of acute and subacute neck pain. 272 participants with neck pain for 2-12 weeks were assigned to treatment group for 12 weeks and then results were measured for short and long term effectiveness over 52 weeks. Read the full study.

So what did those results show? After 12 weeks of treatment, the spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) group had a greater reduction in pain that the medication group. In addition, the SMT treatment group showed greater reduction in pain than both the home exercise and medication groups at 52 weeks. The SMT group also reported higher global improvement, patient satisfaction with care, and assessed physical function than the medication group. The home exercise group also showed a greater reduction in pain than medication and after 12 weeks a higher percentage of participants reported pain reduction of at least 75% over medication.

So this tells us that in cases of acute or sub-acute neck pain, spinal manipulative therapy is superior to medication in short and long term situations for pain reduction, global improvement, patient satisfaction with care, and physical function. Home exercise is also a valuable tool and faired better than medication in pain reduction in short and long term use as well as having a higher patient satisfaction rating.

So if you do have neck pain, talk to your doctor about referring you to a chiropractor or to another specialist for some home exercises! Your local chiropractor would be more than happy to talk to your medical doctor if there are any concerns with treatment.