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Mountain Bikers Slow on the Slide

New research from Austria has found an increase in male infertility in avid mountain bikers. Nearly 90 percent of the cyclists studied, all who rode a minimum of two hours per day and 3,000 miles per year, showed abnor-malities in their scrotum. This figure was compared to a group of non-cyclists that registered 26 percent. Abnormalities included tiny calcifications and vascular irregularities leading to decreased sperm counts and motility. Researchers stated, “We believe that repeated mechanical trauma to the testicles results in some degree of vascular damage, and may thereby cause a reduction in sperm motility.” Microscopic images depicted scores of non-cyclists’ sperm rapidly moving across the slides. In contract, the film of mountain-bikers’ sperm showed a lone sperm inching across the frame. Researchers suggested that mountain bikers should take measures to decrease impact such as better suspension systems and padding.

Trauma and vascular damage, in Chinese medicine, causes Blood Stasis, a condition of impaired blood flow. If the injury is acute, inflammation, or Heat, accompanies the condition. If it is chronic, a variety of other Chinese diagnosises will be considered. Trauma is very treatable with Chinese medicine, even trauma to the scrotum. And fertility, both male and female, can be greatly enhanced with acupuncture and Chinese herbs.