Running can positively and negatively impact the male body and its reproductive health. Many people think running can negatively influence their penis and testicles. We have found 5 ways running affects your penis and testicles. Keep reading!
- Shrank scrotum
Your scrotum hangs out of your body to regulate its temperature. That’s why you notice a hang down there when it’s hot and wonder where your balls vanish when the weather is cold.
Yet your balls don’t shrink due to cold weather only. Your penis and crotch have a way to protect themselves against harm.
Running subjects your groin area to a lot of stress. The constant thump on hard surface results in your penis and crotch striking your thighs. This action could result in injuries.
To prevent such undesirable conditions, your cremaster vessel instructs these body anatomy to retract inside your body where they are well protected against hammering.
This protective positioning of your male organ is known as the cremasteric reflex. If you run for long, your penis and crotch will adopt this position.
The acquired recess may result in a shortened penis and recessed testicles.
- Increases sperm count
Running is a physical exercise that brings some gains to your sperm. It helps to firm your veins, arteries, and your heart.
Besides, running can also increase your testosterone levels. The male hormone is responsible for sperm production, and so, helps you secrete a large volume of sperm.
Again, moderate jogging helps your sperm gain greater fertility. These findings are supported by a study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
The report states that men who undertake moderate exercises like running for about 15 hours a week have high sperm concentration. The finding reports a 73% higher sperm count in men engaged in running as opposed to those males who don’t exercise.
But note that more isn’t necessarily better. If you consistently engage in high endurance races like a marathon, you could hurt your sperm health.
Strenuous sprints result in high fiction around your groins. It also causes great oxidation that wipes out your growing sperm.
Based on NICS Well’s study, 261 healthy married men were selected for the research and assigned randomly to three different training programs, while a fourth group served as a control with no exercise regimen. Over the course of the study, the researchers periodically assessed the participants’ sperm for indicators linked to “good fertility,” including sperm count, size, and motility. The findings revealed that engaging in various types of exercises, particularly running, positively influenced sperm quality. Notably, moderate-intensity training, involving approximately three hours of walking or jogging per week, was identified as the most advantageous in terms of boosting sperm count.
- Supports robust erection
Running boosts blood flow through the veins. Yet this fitness also supports your heart health when done in moderation.
When you run, your heart valves and muscles become stronger. This improvement results in better blood supplies to all your vital organs.
The penis is one such organ that benefits from a robust heart. Running helps maintain clear blood veins allowing more blood through. With more blood flowing below your belt, your erection improves.
Not only do you experience frequent arousal, but these erections are stronger and last longer.
A recent publication in the Duke University School of Medicine found that men who run two hours a week had better erections.
Self-confidence also boosts erection. And here is where running helps. Jogging helps your body to firm up, improving your physique.
With a better-looking body, you become more confident in your body. Thus confidence exudes to your sexual health, improving your erection incidences as a result.
- Painful testicles
Painful groin as a result of running is prevalent. And it’s this effect that prevents many men from this activity.
There are several reasons for this. They include the weather, clothing, and even the duration you take to complete your races.
Running by itself involves smashing and hitting your legs under pressure. This causes stress to your pelvis muscles and could result in pain.
Next, the kind of clothing you put on for the runs also matters. Tight fittings can compress your muscles. The close-fitting band constricts blood from flowing freely, thus depriving your groins of this vital fluid with nutrients.
According to Maiden Lane Medical, certain runners may experience testicular pain while running, which can be attributed to a condition called varicocele. Varicocele is a type of varicose vein that occurs inside the scrotum and is typically of genetic origin. The act of muscle clenching during running can lead to a backup of blood flow, resulting in the enlargement of the vein and subsequent pain.
What happens then? Your muscles start aching as a result and the most common symptom is testicular pain.
Going out for a run on a hot afternoon only makes the painful situation worse. The heat and the jostling can trigger varicocele. This is a muscular inflammation due to the clenching of veins inside your scrotum.
- Swollen groin
You may be having some underlying situations that are often not related to your pelvis. But then, they emit pain via your testis.
There are numerous sources of such pain. They could emanate from your lower back or even pubic bone. Yet urinary tract, hips, and thighs also cause similar conditions, radiating this soreness to your testicles.
One such situation associated with running is the “sportsman groin.” Here, there is damage to your groin’s ligament or tendons during a sporting activity.
This condition is known as hernia but not in the convention matter. If fact, there is no swelling or hernia in this case. So this name has been aptly changed to inguinal disruption.
Inguinal is your groin and its disruption is often due to excessive exertion to the region. Running causes this strain.
If you experience inguinal disruption, you need to stop running and get a proper assessment.
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- Harms testicles
Running involves extreme stamping of feet on the ground. It’s fairly easy if the race covers a short distance and the climate is mild.
But when it’s a marathon that you are undertaking in the sweltering afternoon heat, your scrotum suffers.
In addition to sweat and friction, the blood supply is also affected.
The muscle that supplies blood within this sac is located around a vein called a varicocele.
Vigorous shaking of the area forces this vein to clench. This constriction forces blood to flow back up instead of circulating properly.
This circulatory commotion causes the vein to enlarge and malfunction. And when you engage in this activity for a long, the problem may compound.
This results in a painful scrotum which could need medical intervention.
But varicocele is genetic also. Some men are likely to suffer from it more than others. In case your genes are predisposed to this condition, then running may accelerate it.
- Could cause infertility
Moderate running is good for your sperm health. Physical exercise boosts testosterone production, helping to shore up sperm volume and health.
It’s also good for the heart. Jogging helps to increase heart rate and support vessel dilation.
With flexible and dilated veins, blood and nutrients supply to the brain and other organs improve. This activates the cognitive faculties.
But a study found that you attain these benefits if you race for about 35 miles per week. The study was conducted by the University of Connecticut.
Once running exceeds this threshold though, its beneficial effects fade.
Long-distance training diminishes testosterone levels significantly. Prolonged endurance sports don’t allow sufficient time for the damaged cells to repair.
Thus, they become distorted, forcing the body to prioritize replenishing the dead cells, instead of producing sufficient testosterone.
With fewer T-cells, sperm production also fades. Besides, inadequate nutrients and excessive free radicals ravage the sperm cells and their growing environment.
As per Nova IVF Fertility, exercises that generate excessive heat, like extensive running, can hamper fertility in men by reducing the availability of total free testosterone and altering the release of the luteinising hormone, ultimately leading to a decrease in sperm production. The following are a few exercises that may negatively impact male infertility.
- Too much running destroys sperm
Running strengthen your sperm, but too much of it is dangerous. Hence, marathoners and endurance runners clocking 100km weekly suffer a 28% decline in testosterone secretion.
Reduced T-cells cause sperm decline and poor-quality semen. An old University of Connecticut studies confirm this situation. Still, several other pieces of research published on PubMed Central come to the same conclusion.
Why so? Too much friction and fatigue cause inflammation. The damaged and dead tissues don’t get adequate recovery time.
Marathon races involve running in a hot climate. Even if the temperatures are cool, the friction the legs bring to your groin causes it to heat up.
Yet excessive heat is bad for sperm development. Cells overheating results in the abdication of sperm making to concentrating on cell preservation and immune strengthening.
Thus less testosterone is made, resulting in fewer sperm of lower quality and reduced fertility.
The ejaculation tract is also inflamed and vessels thin up due to too much friction and race-induced heat.
Endurance exercises stress the penis and testicles.
- Restricted blood flow
The effects of sportswear on game performances have been under study for a long, yet sports attire are fashion statements.
What an athlete puts on for different races may to some extent determine the outcome of the sporting activity. Still, sports attire also has effects on fertility.
Putting on tight tracksuits is good. They restrict wind resistance and enhance your safety since no loose fabrics are dragging in the wind.
But when you do too tight as a biker, you end up overheating your internal organs and your groin. The fabric here is also vital.
Polyester material restricts the free flow of air. The ensuing moist condition could increase bacterial infestation. This situation could lower your sporting performance eventually.
Restricted attire also reduces blood flow to the organ. The groin is particularly affected.
According to the study published in the journal Annals of Pharmacotherapy, wearing clingy shorts and legging while exercising restricts your blood movements.
The good part is that it doesn’t cause infertility.
- Could shrink your penis
Running and working out involves burning energy. When you run a lot, your penis could shrink temporarily.
It’s all about blood flow. Running drains your cells and tendons, forcing your system to rush blood to the affected muscles and joints.
This way, less of it is availed to your penis. And as this ratio continues, the penile vessels reduce in size.
But this size reduction doesn’t impact its performance. The muscles are more efficient and less inflamed, causing better erections.
If you see this reduced phallus, probably you aren’t consistent in your running regime. Still, it could remain like this for a long.
It’s a coping mechanism to revitalize worn-out tissues and ligaments. So don’t worry even if your penis appears small. Incidentally, you get a different reward.
Running strengthens your heart and by extension, your erection. This is far much better than having a larger penis that can’t be erect due to sedentary life-induced ED.
In conclusion, five ways that can positively impact penis health and testicles were discussed. We hope that we have provided you with a clear picture and that you can learn more about running if you are considering it as an option.
SIMILAR QUESTION
How Can I Protect My Testicles When Running?
Introduction
Running is an excellent form of exercise that can help to improve physical fitness, cardiovascular health, and mental well-being. Unfortunately, the repetitive nature of running can also cause pain and injury. One of the most common issues is testicular pain caused by the repetitive motion of running. While this can be a minor annoyance, it can also be a sign of a more serious problem. In this paper, we will discuss how to protect your testicles when running in order to minimize the potential for pain and injury.
Why Testicles Need Protection
The testicles are located outside the body and are very sensitive. When running, the repetitive motion of the legs can cause the testicles to rub against the inner thigh. This can cause friction, heat, and discomfort, leading to pain. Additionally, the testicles are also vulnerable to trauma and can be easily injured if they are hit or bumped.
How to Protect Testicles When Running
The best way to protect your testicles when running is to wear the proper clothing. Choose running shorts or pants that fit snugly and don’t ride up. This will help to minimize the amount of friction and movement on the testicles. Additionally, running tights or compression shorts can be worn to provide extra support. It is also important to choose the right type of underwear. Boxer briefs are generally the best option as they provide more support than traditional boxers.
It is also important to take regular breaks during a run. This will help to reduce the overall amount of time spent running and reduce the amount of friction on the testicles. If you feel any pain or discomfort in the area, stop running and take a break.
Conclusion
Running is a great way to stay fit and healthy, but it can also cause pain and injury if not done properly. Taking the time to protect your testicles when running is essential in order to minimize the potential for pain and injury. By wearing the right type of clothing, taking regular breaks, and being aware of any pain or discomfort in the area, you can protect your testicles and enjoy the benefits of running.
