Medical experts say cycling is one otherwise healthy lifestyle choice that can impact on sperm quality and cause infertility. The problem is growing in Ireland as cycling has boomed in recent years.
Medical practitioners in Ireland are seeing more couples present with infertility problems, with the issue increasingly attributed to sperm abnormalities linked to cycling.
In a report in today’s Irish Times, a number of experts in the fertility area say the problem has definitely increased in recent years and they believe it is linked to cycling. They say even those men who do very moderate amounts on the bike are experiencing problems.
However, the good news is that any problems that arise for male cyclists are normally short lived.
It appears that time in the saddle (on the bike – Ed) impacts on the formation, or shape, of sperm and also its ability to move. But once a cyclist takes a step back from the bike for a period, sperm production returns to normality with no long-term consequences.
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Medical director at the Sims IVF Clinic in Dublin, Dr David Walsh told the newspaper the issue is proven to be “dose related”. That is, the more hours you cycle the more likely you are to have a sperm-related problem that negatively impacts fertility.
“We see it a lot,” said Walsh, adding changes in sperm production were “certainly” an issue for a significant amount of cyclists.
Consultant in reproductive medicine at the Beacon Care Fertility Clinic in south Dublin, Dr Simon Thornton said he had also seen an increase in male infertility which he too linked to cycling’s increased popularity here.
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“With the big increase in cycling that we’re seeing, it’s actually quite a significant issue,” he said.
“We’re certainly seeing more and more of it. If you’ve got a young male coming along [for treatment), it’s one of the first questions we ask.”
Dr Louis Keith, a fertility expert with the Northwestern University in Chicago told the Irish Times that clothing for cycling and the body’s position on a bike were at the heart of the problem.
“When you’re on a bicycle, you’re in lycra shorts… your testicles are brought up under your crotch and then you sit on a hard thing. This is not good for testicular health.”
He added that regular cycling and spending long hours in the saddle “has got to have an adverse effect on your sperm quality”.
Sperm production takes place in the testicles at 34.5 degrees – away from the main body’s 37 degrees. And because cycling interferes with the natural order of the testicles sitting away from the body it impacts temperature, which impacts sperm production.
One study in South Africa found endurance cycling changed the shape of sperm significantly. Research in both Spain and Brazil found those changes were significant for somebody cycling 300kms per week or more.
In Boston University, a study of 2,200 men attending a fertility clinic found men cycling five hours or more per week - which includes even commuter cyclists - were associated with low sperm count. They also had sperm that did not move as well as that of other men.
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