The mechanics of an orgasm in males are easy to explain. It doesn't take a lot for a man to get aroused, and the process is pretty straight forward_ The blood rushes in, and afterwards, it rushes out. However the physical process behind women's arousal is much more complicated as we saw in the story about a 24-year-old woman who says a fall from her Wii Fit board injured a nerve in her back causing her to suffer from persistent genital arousal disorder or PGAD. Click here to read the story.
Now this condition has been defined by many sexologists as "intense feelings of genital congestion and sensations that are typically unaccompanied by any conscious awareness of sexual desire," and there have indeed been documented cases of it. Now I have never personally encountered a patient suffering from the condition in my 35 years of practice as an OB/GYN, but today, some of my staff asked me, how this could happen.
Well, the female pelvic floor is very complex and contains many nerves, including the pudendal nerve, which controls uterine and vaginal sensations. The derivation of the pudendal nerve comes from the sacral region of the spine. So, one could argue that the acute imbalance and subsequent fall this young woman suffered sent a trigger to the pudendal nerve, creating these persistent sensations. Think of it as a pinched nerve ... in your vagina.
Click here to read more about PGAD.
Now I'm not making light of this situation, I'm sure it must be crippling to her daily routine, and I can only imagine that the treatments are limited at best. But, it makes you think twice about playing with the Wii. For more information, check out the Sexual Health section of the FoxNews.com and feel free to e-mail your questions to one of our sex experts, Dr. Belisa Vranich at DrBelisa@gmail.com.
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