Vibrators are not just fun sex toys.
In fact, the health benefits appear so good that female genital and pelvic floor specialists should be prescribing vibrators for their female patients.
This conclusion comes from a group of researchers from Cedar-Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles.
They presented their findings and recommendations at a conference organized by the American Urology Association earlier this year and published in the Journal of Urology :
https://www.auajournals.org/doi/10.1097/JU.0000000000002592.16
Based on a literature review, it appears that several health benefits exist for women who regularly use a vibrator. Previous research has already shown that regular masturbation has a positive effect on a woman’s health. Improvements occur physically and psychologically and should be considered medical therapy.
Researchers also feel the area needs to be illuminated better – especially in relation to pelvic pain.
The study’s lead author, Alexandra Dubinskaya PhD, MD, OBGYN, tells Newsweek that it is still somewhat taboo to talk about masturbation and vibrators.
https://www.newsweek.com/vibrators-good-women-study-sexual-health-1706389
Dr. Dubinskaya started a systemic literature review of medical databases to find studies that had already been done, focusing on just that. She looked for studies including certain keywords such as ‘vibrator’ or ‘sex toy’.
In total, they found 558 studies, but only 18 of them met the researchers’ criteria, on which they based their analysis.
The studies show that there are several benefits to regular use of a vibrator. It improves the overall health of the pelvic floor, reduces pain in the external genitalia and leads to improvements in general sexual health.
Vibrators also seem to lead to less incontinence and to increased pelvic floor muscle strength.
The studies also show that using a vibrator reduces the time it takes for a woman to achieve an orgasm – and that it also helps achieve more orgasms.
The other hat I wear is being a Urogynaecologist and using a vibrator sounds like an excellent addition to women’s sexual health.