Under pressure
Biomechanically, the pelvis is a series of boney arches connecting between the lower vertebral column and the legs which can absorb very large loading forces. When we sit upright, with our legs flexed forwards at the hips (as when sitting at a desk, for example), our weight is supported by an expanded part of the pelvis deep in each buttock (the “ischial tuberosities”).
Our external genitalia (male or female) sit below the front arch of the pelvis (the “pubis”) and are mostly out of the way in a normal sitting position.
Reports dating back many years indicate that excessive cycling may lead to infertility in males. This is probably due to impaired thermoregulation of the testes, which must be kept cooler than internal body temperature to maximise healthy sperm production. But another family of genital complaints has a different cause. Most common is genital numbness, or loss of feeling, potentially leading to erectile dysfunction.
To understand how these conditions arise from cycling, let’s look more closely at the anatomy of the pelvis and genitalia, together with the nerves and blood vessels supplying the area.