- Aerobic exercise is nearly as effective at addressing erectile dysfunction (ED) as medications for the condition and is safe and less expensive, a new meta-study finds.
- The greatest sexual performance gains observed in the study occurred for men with the most severe erectile dysfunction.
- Erectile dysfunction is related to cardiovascular health and can be improved using the same forms of exercise that promote heart health.
- The study is a meta-analysis of randomized, controlled studies, making its conclusions highly credible.
For men experiencing erectile dysfunction (ED), exercising regularly can be nearly as effective as ED medications, such as Viagra (sildenafil), in improving performance, according to a new meta-study. The authors say that the benefits of exercise include other sexual performance benefits as well.
The study found that men with the most severe ED improved the most with exercise.
Erectile dysfunction is measured according to the 30-point International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-EF). Scores of 26 to 30 signify no ED, 22 to 25 mild ED, while scores of 17 to 21 constitute mild-to-moderate ED. Moderate ED aligns with a score of 11 to 16, and a score of 6 to 10 indicates severe ED.
In the meta-study, the mean improvement was 2.8 points on the IIIEF-EF scale. Exercise led to improvements of 2.3, 3.3, and 4.9 points for mild, moderate, and severe erectile dysfunction, respectively.
What distinguishes this meta-study is that its analysis is based on 11 randomized, controlled studies. Such studies are considered the gold standard in research.
The study is published in Oxford’s Journal of Sexual Medicine.