Did you know that car accidents can cause erectile dysfunction?
Yes, you read that right. While it may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of motor vehicle accidents, it occurs more often than you might think. As with any other injury that you sustain in a motor vehicle accident caused by someone else, you can receive compensation for it under your bodily injury claim so long as it can be shown that it was caused by the accident.
So how can a car accident cause erectile dysfunction?
The obvious answer is direct trauma to the genital and pelvic area of your body. This doesn’t happen all too often from car accidents though. Less obvious and much more likely, is through either a psychological injury, head injury, or spinal cord injury. It’s possible to develop emotional trauma after a car accident, with symptoms of anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress disorders being common. These psychological injuries that can be caused by a car accident can impact how you think and feel and can contribute to issues with performing.
Head injuries or concussions are also common as a result of car accidents. It’s reported that about half the people, both men and women, with a traumatic head injury experience a drop in sex drive and between 40-60% of men experience temporary or permanent impotence. Depending on the nature of the head injury, it is possible for a certain part of your brain, called the pituitary gland, to be damaged. This part of your brain regulates your sex hormones, and an injury could result in reduced sex drive or inability to perform.
Spinal cord injuries can also result in erectile dysfunction by affecting the nerves that lead to the genitals, resulting in reduced sensation, muscle motion, etc. Where on the spine the injury is located can also result in different types of erectile dysfunction. Damage to the sacral area of the spinal cord can result in issues with “reflex erections,” which happen in response to physical touch. Whereas damage to the thoracic spine, around the mid-back, can result in “psychogenic erectile dysfunction,” which means you have difficulties with the mental aspects of getting and maintaining an erection.
While this might be a hard topic to talk about (no pun intended), it shows how important it is to bring up any health issues you might be experiencing after a car accident with your doctor to get diagnosed and to receive the treatment and care that you need. If you are pursuing a personal injury claim, it would also be important to bring it up to your lawyer to determine if you can receive compensation for it, even if you think it may seem unrelated.
If you have recently been injured in a car accident and are considering seeking compensation, please contact Moustarah & Company today for an initial consultation and to answer any questions you may have.