PENIS PUMPING! Penile Rehab For SCI

WAGSofSCI

Does anyones' partner feel very insecure about their "manhood" post Spinal Cord Injury? 

Whether its shrinkage, "retreating" or just being not the size that it used to be, men with SCI can get very upset about their areas downstairs. As a WAG of SCI, its hard to comfort our men, especially when we dont have all the answers and dont want to make them even more upset. 

We confided in our Sexual Health Nurse about this issue earlier on in my husbands injury to ask what we could do to prevent this from happening, and she told us to PUMP and participate in active Penile Rehab. 

She informed us that penile rehabilitation after spinal cord injury is just as important as other muscle rehab. She said to "Train your penis" by using a medical grade penis pump (no, NOT the Austin Powers kind lol) daily, allowing blood and circulation to visit the areas of the penis.

This is a sensitive subject, but, does anyone else have any experience pumping? Any nurses who have feedback on the way that this works to help shrinkage and other SCI related issues "down there"?

Thank you!

WAGSofSCI

Okay, this is actually an awesome conversation and since it seems very taboo to even discuss sexuality let along sexuality and disability, the doors have now been open! I know for a fact that my partner and I have been presented with a variety of tools  that could assist with sexual activity in the bedroom. 

I guess my question to you is why are we so conditioned by society to believe that talking about such an intimate experience to be shameful? That in itself should be something we must combat. Everyone deserves equal rights to be as open as Kim Kardashians, "breaking the internet" photos. Maybe, just maybe, we can break the internet by normalizing and breaking barriers that have purposely been built to silence our community. 

So, please use this space to generate conversation the way we have on our Private Discussions Page on Facebook. There is SO much great and educational content on our WAGS of SCI pages and we are not afraid to discuss it nor will we be silenced. 

Elena 

fredluis

Cool I love this article .it's standardized, clear and concise ,that ive'd never heard about it before . tree removal

Zcollie

I have never used a pump before but would give it a shot if I ever get one. It does suck how society teaches everyone to be ashamed of and not talk about sex. It does not make sense. Sex it great and enjoyable! Who would not want to talk about it lol. 

nightqueen1

Great piece - will definitely look into this. It makes total sense that you should be rehabbing the penis like any other muscle. How did I not think of this sooner?