(Montreal) Thirty minutes of physical activity three times a week can be as effective as medications like Viagra in improving erectile function, shows a meta-analysis carried out by American researchers.
And the more severe the patient’s erectile dysfunction, the greater the beneficial effects of getting back into shape, the researchers found.
“If we know that men who have severe (erectile) dysfunction are those who improve the most, imagine if we have a mild to moderate problem…, said Doctor Serge Carrier, who is a urologist at the University Center of McGill Health. It’s even more important to take care of it so as not to end up with a severe case; the earlier you start, the better. »
The authors of the meta-analysis examined eleven randomized studies involving around 1,100 men; About half of the participants in these studies were assigned to the group that benefited from an exercise program, and the other half to the control group.
On a standardized scale of 6 to 30, men with the most severe erectile dysfunction reported an improvement of five points; men in whom it was more modest showed an improvement of two or three points. In comparison, molecules like sildenafil (Viagra) or tadalafil (Cialis) usually generate improvements of four to eight points.
Doctors have long known that erectile function is associated with cardiovascular health.
“If we improve the health of the arteries of the heart, we will also improve the health of the arteries of the penis, which are smaller,” summarized Doctor Carrier. Erections are a phenomenon of engorgement of the penis by the increase in (blood) flow, so it takes good vessels to function properly. »
Diabetes, hypertension, being overweight, smoking and a sedentary lifestyle, to name just a few, are all factors that can harm a man’s cardiovascular health, and therefore the quality of his erections.
And if an aerobic activity such as walking or cycling will improve cardiovascular health, strength training can also be useful in the face of erectile dysfunction, since it will encourage the body to produce testosterone, recalled Doctor Carrier.
“Men being men, we have to repeat it often,” said Doctor Carrier, laughing. If I tell a smoker that cigarettes will give him lung or throat cancer, he will tell me that he must die of something. But if I tell him that he will die helpless if he continues to smoke… Sometimes that sentence has more impact. »
Erectile dysfunction problems can appear as early as the age of 40. Some studies have warned that these problems can predict the development, four or five years later, of more serious cardiovascular problems.
It is therefore important to consult your family doctor if problems with erectile dysfunction begin to appear, recalled Doctor Carrier.
The findings of this investigation were published by the Journal of Sexual Medicine.