Erectile Dysfunction

Men's Health
Written By Kyra

What is Erectile Dysfunction?

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is defined as the inability to achieve or maintain penile erection sufficient for satisfactory sexual performance.

ED can happen:

  • Most often when blood flow to the penis is limited or nerves are harmed 

  • With stress or emotional reasons

  • With low testosterone levels

  • As an early warning of a more serious illness, like: atherosclerosis (hardening or blocked arteries), heart disease, high blood pressure or high blood sugar from diabetes

Causes

Physical:

  • There is not enough blood flow into the penis
    Many health issues can reduce blood flow into the penis, such as hardened arteries, heart disease, high blood sugar (diabetes) and smoking.

  • Nerve signals from the brain or spinal cord do not reach the penis
    Certain diseases, injury or surgery in the pelvic area can harm nerves to the penis.

  • Diabetes can cause small vessel disease or nerve damage to the penis

  • Cancer treatments near the pelvis can affect the penis' functionality
    Surgery and or radiation for cancers in the lower abdomen or pelvis can cause ED. Treating prostate, colon-rectal or bladder cancer often leaves men with ED.

  • Drugs used to treat other health problems can negatively impact erections
    Patients should talk about drug side effects with their primary care doctors.

Emotional:

Normal erections require the mind and body working together. Emotional or relationship problems can cause or worsen ED.

Some emotional issues that may cause ED:

  • Depression

  • Anxiety

  • Relationship conflicts

  • Stress at home or work

  • Stress from social, cultural or religious conflicts

  • Worry about sex performance

Treatment

  • Lifestyle changes: Healthy diet, regular exercise, and avoiding harmful habits (such as smoking or drinking alcohol) can improve many systemic factors that can contribute to ED.

  • Medications:

    • PDE-5 inhibitors - help to improve blood flow to the penis.

    • Testosterone replacement - helps to improve low levels of testosterone.

    • Injection therapy - along the same lines as PDE-5 inhibitors, medications can be injected into the penis to help improve blood flow to the penis.

  • Counselling: If ED is caused in part by stress or psychologic barriers, it may be helpful to seek counselling to help overcome these obstacles

  • Devices:

    • Vacuum pump - helps to draw in blood to the penis.

    • Prosthetics - often reserved as a “last line” therapy, a prosthetic can be surgically inserted into the penis to artificially maintain an erection.

  • Emsella (offered at Muskoka Urology):

    Emsella is a breakthrough, non-invasive, painless treatment that restores pelvic floor function. The Emsella chair creates supramaximal contractions in the pelvic floor muscles, building a stronger and tighter pelvic floor.

The pelvic floor muscles are crucial to maintaining erections and blood flow to the penis. When aroused, the brain sends signals to the penis, allowing the muscles and blood vessels to relax, increasing blood flow. The veins on the outer sheath are compressed, preventing blood from leaving the penis and resulting in an erection.

A weak pelvic floor cannot compress the veins to prevent the outflow of blood, resulting in an inability to maintain an erection.

Emsella works to strengthen the entire pelvic floor, providing men with enhanced neuromuscular control and an increased ability to obtain and maintain erections.

Kyra
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