Erectile dysfunction (ED) occurs when a man has trouble getting an erection or maintaining an erection for a long enough time to achieve a sexual climax. No one is to blame in the case of ED. Most of the time, ED is linked to other medical conditions such as high blood pressure, obesity, substance abuse, or diabetes. One might even be wary of assigning blame to any of these conditions as well.
The real cause of ED is nerve inflammation. When one experiences sexual arousal, messages instantly soar from the brain to the genital area. Erections only occur because the brain wants to get it on. As soon as the brain sends the message, things start to get steamy.
The fastest and most direct route from the brain to anywhere in the body is down the spinal cord. If the vertebrae have moved out of alignment, or some sort of bruise exists on the spinal cord, or there is an excess of subluxations in the area, or the nerves on the spinal cord are damaged the neural message may not get to the penis properly, resulting in another case of ED.
Chiropractic treatment is one effective method in improving the communication link between your brain and your genitals. Read this article to discover why the medical profession is so confident in the efficacy of chiropractors treating ED. How does a chiropractor help ED?
What does a Chiropractor do?
A chiropractor uses tools or their hands to manipulate the muscles and joints of a body. The ultimate purpose of a chiropractor is to correct the body’s alignment. A chiropractor is a doctor caring for muscles, joints, and bones instead of patients.
One interesting thing about a chiropractor is that they do not prescribe medication. Nor will a chiropractor perform surgery. Instead, the chiropractor focuses on the alignment of the spine for good health.
Here are some common treatments utilized by a chiropractor (1):
- Soft-tissue therapy – A special kind of massage that targets specific areas of tension in one muscle. The technique breaks up adhesions, scar tissue, and knots in the soft tissue.
- Adjustments – Gently realign joints.
- Joint bracing – Keeping a sprained neck or a twisted ankle secure in a brace is one benefit of joint bracing. In addition, chiropractors can use joint bracing to soothe more severe and intense joint pain.
- Exercises and stretches – A daily amount of exercises and stretches usually coincides with chiropractic care.
How can a Chiropractor Help Those with Erectile Dysfunction?
The chiropractor bases their entire profession on the alignment of the spine. As long as the spine is functioning well, the rest of the body should be good as well. This bold comment may seem a little preposterous. The fact that the entire body’s well-being is contingent on the spine, is a bit difficult to swallow. However, there is a great deal of undeniable truth in the comment as well.
The brain and the spinal cord make up our central nervous system. The brain is where our thoughts and ideas are conceived and then the spinal cord is how these thoughts spread through our body. Kind of like Yin and Yang – each part is equally important.
The popular comparison of the central nervous system to a computer is quite accurate. You press a button on the keyboard, and a signal will zip through the circuit boards and hard drives and eventually appear in the form of a letter on your monitor. This process is almost identical to how the brain interprets information from our eyes, ears, nose, mouths, and touch, and then launches the message across the superhighway of the spine.
The Lumbar Region of the Spine is Essential to Male Reproductivity
Every function of the body is controlled by the nervous system. As a result, different regions of the spinal cord will be more focused on certain bodily functions. For example, when nerve impulses are sent from the brain to the penis, they go down the spinal cord and exit at the bottom of the spine, in the area of the spine that is known as the lumbar region.
Coincidentally, the lower back region is also the common location of back pain. As a result, when a chiropractor adjusts the spine, notably the lumbar region, and manages to disentangle compressed nerves, the blood flow will increase across the body. In turn, the amount of blood flow to the penis will improve erectile dysfunction.
What Does a More Consistent Blood Stream Have Anything to do With an Erection?
Above, we learned that a chiropractor’s job is to align the spine, so that blood flows more smoothly through the body. But how will blood flow improve erectile dysfunction? More notably, what does blood have to do with an erection? In the simplest terms, an erection is all about blood.
This is how an erection is made….
- First, one is stimulated by something sexually.
- As soon as the stimulation occurs, the body releases a natural chemical called nitric oxide. This chemical’s purpose is to dilate blood vessels.
- Then, the nitric oxide triggers an enzyme that causes the muscles in the tissue of the penis to relax.
- Once these muscle cells in the penis begin to relax, blood vessels widen allowing increased blood flow into the penis.
- The final step in the erection process is when the corpora cavernosa region of the penis begins to fill with blood in such a way that blood is blocked from flowing back out of the penis. As more blood flows in and less blood flows out, an erection has been created.
- The body produces another enzyme, called phosphodiesterase 5. When orgasm occurs, the enzyme redirects blood out of the penis and back into the body.
Blood is everything for an erection. If a chiropractor has the ability to align the spine so that blood flows into a penis is increased, and if an erection is produced by blood flow then, logically, a chiropractor can rectify most problems associated with ED.
Case Study Proving Chiropractor can Help Erectile Dysfunction
An interesting case study featured in the Annals of Vertebral Subluxation Research, Volume 2016(2), illustrates exactly how beneficial the work of a chiropractor can be for ED.
According to the study, a 53-year-old man had severe back pain for twenty years. He also reported ED. To comfort his back pain, the man started to see a chiropractor. Not only did the chiropractor relieve his back pain, but he also saw an improvement in his ED.
Understanding Subluxations Allows One to Understand How a Chiropractor can Help Erectile Dysfunction
A subluxation is when a joint does not function properly. The causes of subluxation will vary, however, these three reasons are considered the main causes.
- Trauma – A bad accident may cause subluxation to the spine. Also, minor traumas over time can be just as damaging. If someone sleeps wrong, or carries around a heavy purse, or sits at their computer for a long enough amount of time, traumatic damage can be done to joints and muscles in the body.
- Toxins – Toxic chemicals like air pollution and processed foods can potentially cause one’s muscles to contract, causing a subluxation in the body.
- Thoughts – Enough stressful thoughts bouncing across our mind, will eventually cause pain to our necks and shoulders to become tight. This tightening of muscles will lead to subluxation.
Fertility Benefits of a Chiropractor
A chiropractor will realign one’s vertebrae by correcting subluxations. During this process, these are the benefits that a chiropractor will potentially unleash:
- Less stress – Stress does a lot more damage than one assumes. For starters, stress will produce muscle cramps and joint pain. But too much stress can also affect the production of hormones. By relieving stress pain, a chiropractor can boost one’s fertility.
- Hormonal balance – Some subluxations can affect important regions of the body and important hormones that are required for sexual satisfaction. For example, subluxations in the upper vertebrae will affect hormones directly responsible for the production of testosterone and sperm.
- Improved blood flow – As mentioned earlier, without a healthy flow of blood there is no erection.
Take Action Today and Call a Chiropractor
In summary, when subluxations apply pressure to nerves on the spinal cord, communications to all our bodily organs will be disrupted. Imagine two highways lead to the same destination. One is littered with potholes and traffic, while the other highway is perfect and empty. If you had a message you needed to send, which highway would you choose?
The same scenario could be applied to the spinal cord. A neural message needs to zip down the spinal cord to somewhere in the body. Communication will be more efficient if all the nerves are functioning properly on the spinal cord.
This could not be more true when it comes to erectile dysfunction. An erection is produced upon the penis receiving a message from the brain. A chiropractor can help erectile dysfunction in several different ways.
1 – https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/21033-chiropractic-adjustment
2 – Howard Hadley, B.A., D.C. & Harry Hadley, B.A., D.C.
Annals of Vertebral Subluxation Research ~ December 5, 2016, Pages 137-152