Biomechanical Comparison of Shorts With Different Pads: An Insight into the Perineum Protection Issue

An intensive use of the bicycle may increase the risk of erectile dysfunction and the compression of the perineal area has been showed to be a major mechanism leading to sexual alterations compromising the quality of life. Manufacturers claim that pads contribute to increase cyclists perineal protec...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Marcolin, Giuseppe, Petrone, Nicola, Reggiani, Carlo, Panizzolo, Fausto A., Paoli, Antonio
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Wolters Kluwer Health 2015
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4603024/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26200626
http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000001186
_version_ 1782394845808033792
author Marcolin, Giuseppe
Petrone, Nicola
Reggiani, Carlo
Panizzolo, Fausto A.
Paoli, Antonio
author_facet Marcolin, Giuseppe
Petrone, Nicola
Reggiani, Carlo
Panizzolo, Fausto A.
Paoli, Antonio
author_sort Marcolin, Giuseppe
collection PubMed
description An intensive use of the bicycle may increase the risk of erectile dysfunction and the compression of the perineal area has been showed to be a major mechanism leading to sexual alterations compromising the quality of life. Manufacturers claim that pads contribute to increase cyclists perineal protection ensuring a high level of comfort. To investigate the influence of various cycling pads with regard to perineal protection and level of comfort. Nine club road cyclists rode 20 min on a drum simulator, located at the Nutrition and Exercise Physiology Laboratory, at a constant speed and gear ratio wearing the shorts with 3 cycling pads of different design and thickness: basic (BAS), intermediate (INT), and endurance (END). Kinematics and pressure data were recorded at min 5, 15, and 20 of the test using a motion capture system and a pressure sensor mat. The variables of interest were: 3-dimensional pelvis excursions, peak pressure, mean pressure, and vertical force. The comfort level was assessed with a ranking order based on the subjects’ perception after the 20-min trials and measuring the vertical ground reaction force under the anterior wheel as well as the length of the center of pressure (COP) trajectory on the saddle. Results showed that the vertical force and the average value of mean pressure on the saddle significantly decreased during the 20-min period of testing for BAS and END. Mean peak pressure on the corresponding perineal cyclist area significantly increased only for BAS during the 20-min period. Interestingly objective comfort indexes measured did not match cyclists subjective comfort evaluation. The lower capacity of BAS to reduce the peak pressure on the corresponding perineal area after 20 min of testing, together with its positive comfort evaluation, suggest that a balance between protection and perceived comfort should be taken into account in the choice of the pad. Hence, the quantitative approach of objective comfort indexes introduced in this study could be helpful for manufacturers in the development of their protective pads.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-4603024
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2015
publisher Wolters Kluwer Health
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-46030242015-10-27 Biomechanical Comparison of Shorts With Different Pads: An Insight into the Perineum Protection Issue Marcolin, Giuseppe Petrone, Nicola Reggiani, Carlo Panizzolo, Fausto A. Paoli, Antonio Medicine (Baltimore) 7000 An intensive use of the bicycle may increase the risk of erectile dysfunction and the compression of the perineal area has been showed to be a major mechanism leading to sexual alterations compromising the quality of life. Manufacturers claim that pads contribute to increase cyclists perineal protection ensuring a high level of comfort. To investigate the influence of various cycling pads with regard to perineal protection and level of comfort. Nine club road cyclists rode 20 min on a drum simulator, located at the Nutrition and Exercise Physiology Laboratory, at a constant speed and gear ratio wearing the shorts with 3 cycling pads of different design and thickness: basic (BAS), intermediate (INT), and endurance (END). Kinematics and pressure data were recorded at min 5, 15, and 20 of the test using a motion capture system and a pressure sensor mat. The variables of interest were: 3-dimensional pelvis excursions, peak pressure, mean pressure, and vertical force. The comfort level was assessed with a ranking order based on the subjects’ perception after the 20-min trials and measuring the vertical ground reaction force under the anterior wheel as well as the length of the center of pressure (COP) trajectory on the saddle. Results showed that the vertical force and the average value of mean pressure on the saddle significantly decreased during the 20-min period of testing for BAS and END. Mean peak pressure on the corresponding perineal cyclist area significantly increased only for BAS during the 20-min period. Interestingly objective comfort indexes measured did not match cyclists subjective comfort evaluation. The lower capacity of BAS to reduce the peak pressure on the corresponding perineal area after 20 min of testing, together with its positive comfort evaluation, suggest that a balance between protection and perceived comfort should be taken into account in the choice of the pad. Hence, the quantitative approach of objective comfort indexes introduced in this study could be helpful for manufacturers in the development of their protective pads. Wolters Kluwer Health 2015-07-24 /pmc/articles/PMC4603024/ /pubmed/26200626 http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000001186 Text en Copyright © 2015 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
spellingShingle 7000
Marcolin, Giuseppe
Petrone, Nicola
Reggiani, Carlo
Panizzolo, Fausto A.
Paoli, Antonio
Biomechanical Comparison of Shorts With Different Pads: An Insight into the Perineum Protection Issue
title Biomechanical Comparison of Shorts With Different Pads: An Insight into the Perineum Protection Issue
title_full Biomechanical Comparison of Shorts With Different Pads: An Insight into the Perineum Protection Issue
title_fullStr Biomechanical Comparison of Shorts With Different Pads: An Insight into the Perineum Protection Issue
title_full_unstemmed Biomechanical Comparison of Shorts With Different Pads: An Insight into the Perineum Protection Issue
title_short Biomechanical Comparison of Shorts With Different Pads: An Insight into the Perineum Protection Issue
title_sort biomechanical comparison of shorts with different pads: an insight into the perineum protection issue
topic 7000
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4603024/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26200626
http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000001186
work_keys_str_mv AT marcolingiuseppe biomechanicalcomparisonofshortswithdifferentpadsaninsightintotheperineumprotectionissue
AT petronenicola biomechanicalcomparisonofshortswithdifferentpadsaninsightintotheperineumprotectionissue
AT reggianicarlo biomechanicalcomparisonofshortswithdifferentpadsaninsightintotheperineumprotectionissue
AT panizzolofaustoa biomechanicalcomparisonofshortswithdifferentpadsaninsightintotheperineumprotectionissue
AT paoliantonio biomechanicalcomparisonofshortswithdifferentpadsaninsightintotheperineumprotectionissue