CNN – During the pandemic, I did what many other people did: I bought a stationary bike.
I joined the group rides, pushed through the resistance and pedaled my way to better health. A few weeks in, I started noticing something I didn’t expect — a subtle, intermittent pressure near my prostate that lingered throughout the day.
As a urologist, knowing what those sensations can sometimes signal only made me more anxious.
Was the bike irritating something important? Was this the start of chronic prostate pain or even trouble in the bedroom? The worry built up enough that I stopped riding and eventually sold the bike.
That fear is something I hear from patients all the time: Is biking causing my prostate issues or erection problems? The science-based answer is that it probably does not.
In my case — and in many others — the problem wasn’t the bike or the exercise. It was my form and my mind.
The prostate sits just below the bladder and wraps around the urethra. It is located deep in the pelvis, directly above the perineum (the soft area between the scrotum and anus). Anything that irritates that region, including pressure, tight muscles or prolonged sitting, can create sensations that men interpret as “prostate pain.”
Cycling concentrates your body weight on the perineum, where the pudendal nerve, key blood vessels and the pelvic floor muscles all travel. The major nerves that support erections also run along the outer surface of the prostate, which is why irritation in the surrounding tissues can feel like a prostate or sexual function problem, even when the gland itself is normal.
A narrow or traditional bike saddle can press on these sensitive areas for long periods, creating burning, pressure or a bruised feeling. That discomfort is real, but it isn’t the prostate or surrounding nerves themselves being damaged …
