Doctors in gynecology are considering the medical benefits of vibrators, based on what’s already known and what studies are still to come.
Before being indoctrinated primarily as sex toys, the pleasure tools known as “vibrators” began as popular medical devices. Although more research is needed, experts say that vibrators still potentially offer more for individual wellness than just sexual relief.
Yahoo Life shares the work of Hallie Lieberman, a sex historian and author of Buzz: A Stimulating History of the Sex Toy, who clarifies that although many have claimed that the early “electric vibrator” treated women for “hysteria” as part of a sexist medical practice, that was never its original intention.
The vibrator, Lieberman maintains, was invented by British physician Dr. Joseph Mortimer Granville, who “argued specifically that it shouldn’t be used on hysterical women; rather, Dr. Granville invented the vibrator as a medical device for men, to be used on a variety of body parts, mainly to treat pain, spinal disease and deafness.”
Vibrators generally promote orgasms by increasing blood flow to the erogenous zones, especially among women. Dr. Alexandra Dubinskaya, a gynecologist at Cedars-Sinai Marina del Rey Hospital, conducted a study with her colleagues, published in Sexual Medicine Reviews in January, which shows that there are other possible medical benefits still to explore.
“Vibrator use has a positive effect across multiple domains in the female sexual response cycle, such as a decrease in time to achieve an orgasm, facilitate multiple orgasms and improve sex-related distress,” Dubinskaya tells Yahoo Life. “Moreover, the use of vibrators leads to an improvement in urinary incontinence and pelvic floor muscle strength as well as vulvar pain.”
Dubinskaya’s study shows that in a “randomized clinical trial among women who were unable to contract their pelvic floor muscles voluntarily, intravaginal vibratory stimulation was shown to be superior to intravaginal electrical stimulation in improving pelvic floor muscle strength.”
This research importantly illustrates the potential benefits of a vibrator when used in treatment for stress urinary incontinence. After more research, Dr. Dubinskaya says that vibrators could be included in the general treatment recommended for pelvic floor disorders, such as stress urinary incontinence.
The existing scientific literature shows a link between vibrator usage and “an improvement in incontinence symptoms, including decreased urinary leakage,” according to Yahoo Life.
Dr. Monica Grover, an ob-gyn and chief medical officer at VSpot, tells Yahoo Life that vibrators (and masturbation in general) can likewise aid in premenstrual symptoms as well as painful periods. Vibrators can increase blood flow as well as lubrication for women who suffer from painful intercourse due to vaginal dryness.
What’s still to be discovered, Dr. Dubinskaya explains, are the specificities to which this treatment can be prescribed, including which types of vibrators are best for treating medical conditions, for how long and in what manner.
“It is not fully known if the type of vibrator has an effect, as there has not been enough studies conducted,” says Dubinskaya. “Vibrators have various characteristics: type, speed and intensity of vibration. They also differ in application: vaginal vs. external. As more studies are conducted, the specific benefit of different design characteristics would be understood.”
Yahoo Life cautions:
If you’re considering trying a vibrator as part of a treatment for a medical concern, experts say it’s best to first speak with an ob-gyn, pelvic floor therapist, urologist or urogynecologist. They can help provide more information on whether a vibrator can be helpful in addressing your health concerns.
Read the original story here.
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