The Authors - from  the Department of Urology San Bassiano Hospital, Bassano del Grappa Department of Urology SS. Giovanni e Paolo Hospital, Venice; Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, San Bassiano Hospital, Bassano del Grappa - set out to identify a bicycle saddle model suitable for cyclists that cover long distances that is capable of limiting compression of the structures of the pelvic floor and, thus, protecting the blood perfusion of the penis and preventing possible consequences in erection.

In bikers that cover long distances, we observed an increase of erectile dysfunctions of the penis, write the authors.

There are two theories from an etiopathogenic point of view. Certain authors attribute a fundamental role to the compression of the pudendal nerve. According to others, an important role is carried out by the hypoperfusion of penile blood, which may cause a fibrosis of the corpus cavernosum. All these theories converge, nevertheless, in identifying the perineal region as a critical point in which a compression of these structures takes place. Research was therefore oriented towards the realization of a bicycle saddle model that would be able to prevent an excessive perineal compression.

These authors have proved that to protect penis blood perfusion the important factor is not so much the extent of the saddle padding as its width. A wide saddle furnishes enough support to the pelvic bones and limits the compression of the perineal tissues. The absence of the saddle beak prevents clipping the perineal blood vessels around the pubic arch.

A saddle with these characteristics, however, is not suitable to professional bikers. The aim of our work has been to identify a product that had the characteristics to preserve penis blood perfusion and at the same time had a geometrical design compatible with the biker’s requirements.

In the study, the SMP saddle is shown to be by far the most efficient in protecting the blood perfusion of the penis compared to one of the saddles most frequently used (at that time) by professional cyclists.

The SMP saddle performs so well in these studies because the cyclist's weight is uniformly distributed over the gluteal muscles, the ischial tuberosity and the ischium.  This keeps the perineal plane free. Furthermore, the saddle beak made, which has an eagle beak shape, leaves the outside genitalia free from compression.

The Conclusions of the study: validation of the efficacy of the SMP saddle in limiting the compression on the pelvic floor even though it has dimensions, especially in width, compatible with the needs of cyclists that cover long distances.