Unable to feel sensation down there. Need advice, please!

[lll]

Potentially TMI. I'm female. I used an exercise bike for an hour about 2 months ago and after I got off it, I noticed these shooting pains in my perineum. I felt a LOT of pressure on that area while I was using the bike so I thought, "Oh, no big deal. I just won't use the bike again." 3 days later, I noticed I was unable to orgasm. It has always been extremely easy for me to reach orgasm and the only time it was difficult was when I was taking antidepressants a couple years ago, but the sensation returned the moment I stopped them. I thought if I just waited a while, things would return to normal. But 2 months later, I still can't feel anything down there. It feels like I'm just touching my arm. I did some research and apparently cycling can cause damage to the pudental nerve, since it's so close to the perineum, and cause sexual dysfunction. I feel very sad and frustrated. I just want things to be how they were. It's been 2 months, so I'm guessing any hope for things returning to normal is wistful thinking. Have I caused permanent damage? Has anyone else experienced this? Not sure where the right category is for this. But I really need advice.

[Violet M]

Hi Ill,

It's hard to predict for sure especially since you don't have an exact diagnosis of what is causing the numbness. It sounds like you like to exercise. I don't know if the numbness you are experiencing is due to local pressure on the perineum or whether you were already predisposed to this nerve injury due to some underlying musculoskeletal problems due to something like frequent exercise.

If it is local nerve ending damage from the pressure of a local injury, peripheral nerves can heal, so hopefully you will get sensation back. I had a family member who had surgery where they peeled a tumor off of a nerve and he had numbness for a few months but slowly the sensation came back. If the pathology is caused by continued compression of the nerve from some musculoskeletal anomaly or something like scar tissue, then you might not see improvement, but given the history of the injury with direct pressure on the perineum hopefully it is a local injury that will heal over time. If you want to be proactive rather than take a wait-and-see-if-it-heals attitude you could get some opinions and a proper diagnosis from health care providers who are experienced in this area.

Violet

[lll]

Hi Ill,

It's hard to predict for sure especially since you don't have an exact diagnosis of what is causing the numbness. It sounds like you like to exercise. I don't know if the numbness you are experiencing is due to local pressure on the perineum or whether you were already predisposed to this nerve injury due to some underlying musculoskeletal problems due to something like frequent exercise.

If it is local nerve ending damage from the pressure of a local injury, peripheral nerves can heal, so hopefully you will get sensation back. I had a family member who had surgery where they peeled a tumor off of a nerve and he had numbness for a few months but slowly the sensation came back. If the pathology is caused by continued compression of the nerve from some musculoskeletal anomaly or something like scar tissue, then you might not see improvement, but given the history of the injury with direct pressure on the perineum hopefully it is a local injury that will heal over time. If you want to be proactive rather than take a wait-and-see-if-it-heals attitude you could get some opinions and a proper diagnosis from health care providers who are experienced in this area.

Violet

Thanks for the reply. I don't exercise that often, really; my cousin had just taken me to his gym and the exercise bike was the only thing I wanted to use. I do think the injury was caused by the excess pressure. I also should mention I spend most of my day sitting. I've gotten a "donut cushion" from Amazon hoping it would prevent the injury from progressing. I felt a lot of pain in the perineum area right after the bike incident, intermittently for days, and it got worse with sitting, and I stupidly ignored it and thought it would go away. What you said gave me some hope so I really hope it's true. Hopefully it's just a surface injury and the problem resolves on its own within time. The story of your family member was reassuring. I guess I have no choice but to be patient, no matter how nervous I'm feeling. This is frustrating but all I can do is wait, and try to sit less, I guess. If anyone else has any experience with this, I'd really appreciate your advice too. I'm trying to calm down and looking up things on the internet doesn't provide much info so it's just making me more worried.

[Violet M]

There are things you could do to help mobilize the tissues down there and improve blood flow and healing -- such as myofascial release of the pelvic floor if you have any muscle tension, and alternating hot/cold sitz baths (2 minutes hot then 30 seconds ice cold X 4) four times a day. Also, avoiding sitting as much as possible would be smart. I don't know if you would be able to get a stand-up station at work or something that would allow you to alternate standing and sitting.

Also, whenever you have numbness in a body part it's not a bad idea to at least get an MRI if your doctor agrees, to rule out anything more serious that could be causing or contributing to the problem.

Violet