Sex despite back pain
What if your back hurts with every movement and sex becomes torture? Instead of giving up intimate pleasure, Canadian researchers have now compiled a catalogue of recommended positions for sexual intercourse. For this purpose, the scientists examined in detail the movement sequences of male subjects during the act.
Natalie Sidorkewicz, Stuart M. McGill: Male Spine Motion During Coitus - Implications for the Low Back Pain Patient. Spine 2014 Sep 15;39(20)
Back pain has a devastating effect on the love life of many couples. According to surveys, 84 percent of men with back problems and 73 percent of women have less sexual intercourse. In order to remedy the lull in love in bed, biomechanics Natalie Sidorkewicz and Stuart McGill from the Canadian University of Waterloo filmed ten couples in five different positions during the sexual act and then measured their posture precisely.
"Doggy style" instead of "little spoon".
While the medical advice for people suffering from back problems has so far been limited to the "spoon position" in which both partners are on the side, the results of the Canadian researchers provide much more detailed information. "For the first time, we can document how different positions during sex strain the tissues," says McGill. For example, men with back pain, especially when sitting or bending forward, are much better advised with the doggy style in which the man is behind his partner. The advantage: In this position, the impact movements come from the hips while the lower spine hardly moves. The "missionary" or "spoon position", on the other hand, is recommended for men who have pain when stretching or bulging their back.
The study also revealed that patients with back pain suffer particularly severe pain, especially at the peak, which sometimes leads them to try to avoid orgasm. According to the scientists, further studies are currently being carried out to find out how such men can be helped.