Flourish of impotence associated to cycling
March 25, 2007

25 March, 2007 - Musiari Mukili job is related with bicycle taxi business. It was a worthy investment, at least for starters. Intended for a small amount depending on the distance, he would ship passengers who had less than what buses charged, to a variety of places in Busia, a town on the border with Uganda. Once in a while, he would ride all the way to town. Though he would be exhausted at the end of each working day, he had a little for food and it was much improved being self-employed.

But three years later, he has residential a unique problem, one that he would not challenge discuss openly. His wife of many years of late cut loose, parting him with their two children. Frustrated, Mukili has found a new love in the bottle.

"There are only two kinds of male cyclists — those who are impotent and those who will be impotent," said Irwin Goldstein, a medical doctor in 1997. Unsurprisingly, his remarks caused racket, especially among bicycle manufacturer and long-distance and sports education cyclists.

Erectile dysfunction

A medical expert says concentrated cycling of poorly harnessed bicycles for long periods and for long distances can lead to erectile dysfunction. Dr Peter Ngugi, senior lecturer at the University of Nairobi’s School of Medicine, says cycling can cause erectile dysfunction (impotence) by injuring nerves in the perineum. The difficulty, he says is extra widespread among youths.

Cyclists convey people and goods cheaply. In October 2005, a United Nations Development Programme study in conjunction with the National Road Safety Agency estimated that Kisumu had about 14,000 registered bicycles. About 5,000 Kisumu residents earned direct income by transporting about 10 people a day per cyclist. In 2000, Kenya imported 447,000 bicycles. The figures are replicated in most other towns where boda boda operate.

But Ngugi, a consultant eurologist, says in addition a bad bicycle seat hitting a man below the belt, cyclists who haul huge loads get physically fatigued, a situation that further lowers the rider’s libido. Lower pay for this hard labour, he says, may further depress the cyclist.

As such, impotence among cyclists may have additional causal factors apart from damage to the perineum. Other causes of erectile dysfunction, Ngugi says, include low testosterone levels, stress, excessive alcohol consumption, thyroid diseases and smoking.

"Cyclists inevitably suffer physical and psychological fatigue because they are low income earners, while the task stretches their bodies to the limit. The situation is definitely a bad recipe for erection."

In Nairobi’s Doonholm estate, where boda boda are found, no cyclist accepted to be drawn into discussing the matter with Society. Those who did said the research on impotence among cyclists was ‘malicious’.

Ngugi says protracted cycling decreases blood flow to the base of the penis because of the added anxiety to perineum.

There are lot more method of keeping away cycling-inflicted erectile dysfunction includes reputation on the pedals when crossing railroad tracks, bumps and potholes. "Because what you ride is as vital as how you cycle, your bicycle should be fitted with the right equipment so as to avoid suffering transient numbness."

And treat erectile dysfunction occasioned by cycling, Ngugi says there is no special move toward. Rather, the condition is treated with conservative medicines available in the market like Viagra or Cialis. They help patients who have difficulties with sexual recital.

Manufacturers put up for sale billions of Viagra and Cialis doses every year. Whereas the medicines might be within reach for sport cyclists who have fallen wounded to their activity, in particular in the west, their boda boda counterpart in Kenya have little recourse as they live from hand to mouth.