Short answer:  yes. 

It should come as no surprise to my real life patients that getting active is one of the most important things you can do for your health.  And that includes sexual health.

Sexual health comes up in consultations in a variety of ways.  The commonest times that it comes up:

• Couples seek consultation as part of a long-term plan to get healthy before starting to try for a family (I love these consultations!)

• menopause for women

• men with established chronic health conditions, including diabetes, heart disease or obesity

And every time it comes up, I always ask about physical activity.

So, what does the latest study say? It really confirms alot of what we already know.

What?   This month, The Journal of Sexual Health published a study.   In this study, they looked at 11 different randomised controlled trials where men with erectile dysfunction were given either a drug like Viagra or prescribed regular aerobic exercise.

Who benefitted? Men with all degrees of erectile dysfunction showed some improvement with regular physical activity.

What don’t we know? Further studies would be needed to determine the optimal type and amount of aerobic exercise required to produce the best results for erectile dysfunction.  The role of pelvic floor strengthening exercises here would be interesting, too! However, we have great guidelines from other studies on how exercise can improve heart health and blood sugar control, and those guidelines are very helpful starting point.

Why do experts think works?

Physical activity improves cardiovascular (heart and blood vessels) health.  We know that patients with worse cardiovascular health are more likely to have erectile function.

Additionally, regular aerobic exercise helps maintain healthy body weight, lower blood pressure, and improve blood sugar control in people with diabetes— all of these are known to reduce risk of erectile dysfunction.  Regular physical exercise also helps maintain good blood vessel health, and regulate hormones including testosterone.

There will be men who will need pharmaceutical options.  But since many men don’t want pills/injections, or are at risk for complications from these medications, or cannot tolerate them due to side effects – especially headaches – it’s good to give them an option that looks after their whole health.