Pointing the way forward

Chinese medicine practitioner Peter Deadman looks at the causes of and cures for erectile dysfunction, writes Sylvia Thompson…

Chinese medicine practitioner Peter Deadman looks at the causes of and cures for erectile dysfunction, writes Sylvia Thompson

ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION affects more than half of all men to varying degrees. And while it affects older men more than younger men, some studies suggest that one-fifth of men under 40 suffer from some degree of erectile dysfunction.

Peter Deadman, a British-based practitioner and teacher of Chinese medicine for more than 25 years, has found that acupuncture is a useful treatment for erectile dysfunction.

"It has become my mission to spread knowledge and education on how Traditional Chinese Medicine [TCM] and acupuncture in particular can help male disorders such as male sub fertility, benign prostate enlargement, chronic pelvis pain syndrome and erectile dysfunction," explains Deadman.

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In a recent paper on the treatment of erectile dysfunction by acupuncture published in the Journal of Chinese Medicine, Deadman explains the psychogenic and organic causes of erectile dysfunction.

"Psychogenic causes such as anxiety, depression, relationship problems and obsessive compulsive disorders predominantly affect young men accounting for 70 per cent of cases in men under 35," he writes.

Deadman, who is the journal's editor and co-author of A Manual of Acupuncture, will give workshops on male infertility at an international TCM conference in Dublin at the weekend. Organic causes of erectile dysfunction account for about 70 per cent of all cases.

And Deadman notes how the correlation between erectile dysfunction and heart disease, diabetes and other vascular disease is so strong that all men over 25 should be asked about erectile dysfunction and assessed for cardiovascular disease if they have symptoms of erectile dysfunction.

Organic causes of erectile dysfunction tend to have a gradual onset with no variation according to partner or circumstances, while psychogenic causes of erectile dysfunction tend to have a sudden onset with a variation according to partner and circumstances.

Deadman says that while the availability of medications such as Viagra has reduced the taboo around erectile dysfunction, such medicines treat the symptoms rather than looking at the underlying causes of the problem.

"The danger of prescribing medications such as Viagra is that the doctor can miss the opportunity to look at the overall health and lifestyle of the patient.

"Apart from the fact that erectile dysfunction can be a warning sign of impending heart attack or stroke, the GP visit also provides a perfect chance to look at issues of excess weight, lack of exercise and smoking - all of which can contribute to the problem."

The traditional Chinese medicine approach to erectile dysfunction aims to find "a pattern of disharmony" within each individual case and then to treat that person according to the specific set of signs and symptoms. The patient is encouraged to refrain from ejaculation for several weeks after the onset of treatment.

"I'm not saying that a few sessions of acupuncture can solve erectile dysfunction in someone who has deep psychological problems and needs therapy. But if you look at a man with erectile dysfunction who is suffering from exhaustion [who is overworking, not sleeping well and is hyped up], he can benefit from acupuncture as well as learning how to rest more and nourish himself more. Another man with erectile dysfunction who is depressed and has a lot of repressed frustration might need to get out and do a lot of exercise as well as having acupuncture treatment," he says.

In his paper, Deadman explains how men who take regular exercise have far less risk of erectile dysfunction.

However, cyclists should pay attention to the type of saddle on their bicycles, because studies have found higher levels of erectile dysfunction in male cyclists compared with swimmers and runners.

Deadman also draws attention to how pelvic floor exercises have been found to solve the problem of erectile dysfunction in some cases. Specifically, he mentions the landmark study of Prof Grace Dorey of Bristol University, which found that 40 per cent of men, with an average age of 59, regained normal erectile function following an exercise programme. The pelvis floor exercise programme should be practised daily for up to six months.

Interestingly, from the Chinese medicine perspective, pelvis floor exercises are similar to many styles of qigong practices. And there is a specific series of qigong practices that are devoted to male sexual health.

"Male sexual health is a popular subject in traditional Chinese medicine. Even if you consider the history of nobles and emperors with their concubines, there was an enormous emphasis on finding ways to stimulate male sexual power," he says.

"There was also recognition that certain substances could be quite dangerous and that over-stimulation, without tonifying the body, would deplete the sexual essence of the man," explains Deadman.

See also www.peterdeadman.co.uk