Not many people are aware that in most cases physical rather than psychological causes are responsible for impotence (ED), and that ED is usually eminently curable.
Sexual impotence is a very misunderstood medical condition in today’s society and is often poorly managed. The mismanagement could be attributed to two primary factors.
1. Fear, guilt, shame and worry of talking about anything sexual with others due to the social stigma of discussing sexually related issues.
2. Sexual ignorance and a belief in the myth that erectile dysfunction is related to psychological issues.
These two issues are the underlying reason why so many cases of impotence remain poorly managed, if they’re discussed at all. These things could be the contributing factor for the overall impression that impotence can’t be easily cured.
This is unfortunate because not only are most cases of impotence NOT psychological in origin but most are EMINENTLY CURABLE as well.
Impotence, or erectile dysfunction (ED, E.D.), as andrologists prefer to call it, has always been and continues to remain an extremely common disorder. It is said to afflict as much as 10 percent of the male population. Above the age of 40, nearly 52 % of men are affected.
Despite this staggering incidence, few cases come to light.
Contrary to popular belief, impotence is almost never an ‘all or none’ phenomenon. In fact, there are even some doctors who wrongfully believe that men can either achieve a good erection or nothing at all, with no in between. This belief is incorrect. Most men with erectile dysfunction have normal desire and can obtain an erection, only the erection is not hard enough or doesn’t last long enough. Hence the term erectile dysfunction (which suggests partial loss) is preferred to impotence (which suggests a total loss). Not many are aware that in most cases organic rather than psychological causes are responsible.
Fortunately that common belief is slowly turning around. Andrological research has advanced in recent years to conclusively realize that between 80 and 90 percent of men suffering from chronic impotence are afflicted from a problem within the body and not within the mind. The causes are diagnosed after a series of andrological tests and then the physical issue is treated without using psychological means.
In this day and age, when so many medical advances occur on a regular basis, it is unusual that research into male sexual problems remains so far behind. When compared to female reproductive medicine it’s woefully behind, as obstetics and gynecology is advancing all the time and is a highly developed specialization. The field has become so advanced that gynecology includes various sub-specializations within the field which include gynecological oncology, infertility, pregnancy problems and more, simply because the developments are so vast. It may be of interest to our readers to deliberate in passing the reasons for this delayed understanding of the subject.
There are two primary reasons: The main one is thought to be linked to male chauvinism. Throughout human history, most of our societies have been patriarchal and male-dominated. Many men simply can’t override their own egos in order to admit that something might be wrong with their manhood. Oddly, men are responsible for the advances in medical research surrounding the female reproductive system and development of the gynecology and obstetrics fields. But they refused to look into themselves.
The second reason could be explained as a belief that evolved based on Sigmund Freud’s teachings. These teachings may be responsible for so many men believing that erectile dysfunction is based on a problem within the mind.
Whereas most branches of medicine have taken their roots from biology - the study beginning with an understanding of the anatomy(structure) and physiology(function) of that part, and proceeding to then figure out what happens when anatomy or physiology goes wrong thus causing disease (pathology), the male reproductive system alone took its roots from psychology rather than biology, thus causing tremendous damage.
This explains why most people know that it takes a complex concatenation of neuromuscular phenomena to lift a finger but fail to realize that equally complex phenomena are needed to lift the penis!! Most people simply believe that a men needs only to think a few naughty thoughts in order to get the latter to occur.
What then causes impotence (ED)? Even though erectile dysfunction can occur in men ranging in age between 13 and 90 and has been linked to various different clinical conditions, the underlying problems that cause impotence are few in number.
All of these can be accurately identified using modern andrological investigative techniques.