Erections are supposed to be pleasing and exciting. What happens when an erection becomes painful, however? Is that a sign of a serious medical problem? Keep on reading to find out what such aches could be indicative of.
How Erections Occur
Before moving on to exploring painful erections, it’s important to take a look at penile anatomy and physiology.
There are three tubes passing through the penis – the urethra and the two corpora cavernosa. These are all surrounded by fibrous tissue. The corpora cavernosa are spongy tubes. During an erection, they get filled with blood and ensure the rigidity of the penis.
As you can see, the penile tissues and chambers go through a number of processes for an erection to occur. A problem with any of these processes could potentially lead to pain.
Most Common Causes Of Erection Pain
Feeling pain during an erection is not a normal thing and definitely not something you should underestimate. If you experience the issue more than once, you’ll definitely need to see your urologist.
A few of the most common problems that could be contributing to erection pain include the following:
- Peyronie’s disease (sometimes, penis curvature would not be present but men will still experience aches when getting an erection)
- Injury to the penis, for example caused when playing sports or having rougher sex with a partner on top
- Phimosis
- Priapism
Some of these causes are easy to understand. A few of the others are a bit more specialized and people are generally unaware of them. We’ll now take a closer look at phimosis and priapism and how these two conditions can be addressed.
What Is Phimosis?
Phimosis is a medical condition characterized by tightness of the foreskin and its inability to retract whenever an erection takes place.Thus, it’s easy to understand why the engorging of the penis would be painful in this situation.
Phimosis is relatively easy to diagnose and most often, it will be addressed during childhood. Approximately one percent of adolescent boys suffer from the condition. It’s also possible for previously retractable foreskin to lose its stretchiness later on in life. This condition is known as pathologic phimosis.
The good news is that the condition is relatively easy to address. There are several treatment options that urologists will employ for overcoming the issue.
The application of corticosteroid ointments is quite popular. This treatment is cheap, non-invasive and capable of delivering sufficient results. When phimosis isn’t particularly severe, gentle manual stretching may be recommended.
In instances when the tightness of the skin can’t be overcome through the use of less invasive procedures, circumcision may be recommended. Many urologists, however, believe this should be a last-resort option due to the availability of other approaches that will usually resolve the issue.
What Is Priapism?
Another issue that will lead to painful erections is priapism. Much less common, this condition could contribute to serious pain and discomfort.
Priapism is a medical condition characterized by prolonged erections that can continue for hours, even after the end of intercourse or sexual stimulation.
While the condition isn’t particularly common, it can occur frequently in men suffering from other medical problems. The men who suffer from sickle cell anemia and those taking medications for depression are likely to suffer from prolonged painful erections.
Depending on the severity of the condition and the number of hours for which the erection has been sustained, medics may recommend a couple of treatment approaches. To offer the patient immediate relief, excess blood will have to be drawn out of the penis. A simple solution, this one is capable of delivering immediate relief from the pain.
Certain types of medications may also be injected in the penis to constrict the blood vessels that supply the spongy tissues with blood. At the same time, the vessels that carry blood away from the penis will open up, allowing for the erection to be discontinued.
Finally, surgery may be needed on occasions. Rerouting of the blood delivery system may be required to ensure the proper functioning of the penis.
What To Do In The Case Of A Penile Injury
If a medical condition isn’t to blame for a painful erection, it could be the result of a trauma. Penis injury is a real thing and it occurs most frequently during sex. Because the penis is rigid during an erection and its flexibility is reduced, it becomes much more vulnerable.
The condition is sometimes called penile fracture. Yes, there’s no bone in the human penis but it can still be “broken.” A sharp bend during passionate sex will lead to such a serious injury. A hematoma may be visible under the skin and at least one or both of the corpora cavernosa will be affected.
If you have gotten your penis injured during sex, you’ll be asked to refrain from sexual activity for a certain period of time. In some instances, the use of antibiotics may be required to reduce the risk of an infection or other complications.
In the case of severe trauma, surgery will be required for tissue repairing. Thus, don’t postpone seeing the doctor if you experience pain during erections. The longer you wait, the more difficult it would be to offer a viable and effective treatment.
Addressing Penile Pain Caused By Peyronie’s Disease
The final condition we have to address is Peyronie’s disease. The abnormal curvature of the penis is the most common symptom of the issue. It’s caused by scar tissue formation and it can lead to a rather significant abnormal angle of curvature during an erection.
Peyronie’s disease is a very common cause of erection pain because the scar tissue restricts the proper enlargement of the organ.
Addressing Peyronie’s disease can be easy. A high quality traction device will be sufficient to get results.
Traction devices are also called penis extenders. These devices stretch the penis away from the body and keep it in a mild state of tension. As a result, small tissue tears occur. Cells start replicating to compensate for the tissue damage. this is how traction devices can be used for the formation of new tissue (penis enlargement) and for breaking up the Peyronie’s disease plaque.
The market features many extension devices and some of them are much better than others. If you’d like to learn a bit more about penis extenders and how they work, you should definitely consider the following website section.
Erection pain is never normal – it shows you that something’s wrong with your penis. Don’t ignore the symptom because you’ll end up regretting the decision later on. As embarrassed as you may feel, see your doctor immediately. Chances are that the issue would be an easy to resolve one.
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