FirstMed Consulting Blog

How does it cause Erectile Dysfunction?

Spinal cord injuries can damage the spinal cord and the nerve’s which branch of it. Injuries such as these can affect nerves and chances are that in some individuals it can affect the nerves which supply the penis (the Pudendal nerve) and surrounding area. The Process of achieving an erection is a very complex one involving multiple inputs from various areas of the brain and the nervous system (spinal cord). The nervous system plays a very important role in penile erection. The nervous system is involved in the creation of an erection and process of ejaculation itself. The first part of the penile erection is controlled by the brain and is referred to as a psychogenic erection and occurs in any sort of mental or erotic stimulation. Sexual difficulties may arise from damage to the nervous system (such as in spinal cord injury). Spinal cord injury or nerve injury can lead to a gradual or immediate deterioration in erectile function.

Ejaculatory dysfunction among disabled people is most common in men with spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, spina bifida, and transverse myelitis. Ejaculation involves closure of the bladder neck (through sympathetic nerve stimulation) and relaxation of the external sphincter in the penis. Patients with nerve often experience retrograde ejaculation into the bladder because of sympathetic damage, and various procedures have been used to induce an ejaculate. Some patients with nerve damage can be helped by electroejaculation. This involves the insertion of a stimulatory probe into the rectum to stimulate the midsacral roots directly, but it requires hospital attendance because of the complexity of the procedure and the potential side effects of pain and autonomic dysreflexia.

There may also be problems with other organ systems in individuals suffering from spinal cord injury, like fatigue, anxiety, depression, and, indeed, altered desire of the patient’s partner. Disability services and general practitioners can address the sexual needs of not only the patients but also their partners at times of need.