Medical Study Shows Vibrators Good for Your Health

We have known as a society for a long time that humans can benefit from masturbation and other expressions of sex. We have had many more conversations about the orgasm gap and the benefits of orgasm — especially for vulva owners.

So, between those discussions becoming more prevalent and the pandemic pushing sales of sex toys and pleasure aids through the roof, research studies are finally looking at the importance of these products in our lives. 

Medical Study on Pelvic Health and Vibrators

A recent study led by Dr. Alexandra Dubinskaya at the Cedar-Sinai Medical Center posed the question of whether it's time for physicians to start prescribing sex toys/pleasure aids as treatments. Just recently, during the American Urological Association's 2022 Annual Meeting, the results of this study were discussed — and they're essential for us to talk about! 

So, this study, in particular, aimed to analyze the effects of sex toys on the use of sexual function, pelvic floor dysfunction, & vulvar pain. Dubinskaya and her team started this study by finding other studies that focused on vibrator or sex toy use and its effect on these same the things.

Image: Dr. Dubinskaya Presenting Study Findings: "Is it time for doctors to prescribe vibrators?"

She and her team found that they were pretty limited; however, the research articles that did meet these criteria showed an overall "positive effect" in many areas of women's health—some of these improvements included easing vulvar pain and improvements in urinary incontinence and pelvic floor muscle strength. 

Dubinskaya and her team took this study and found some incredible things — vibrator/sex toy use had positive effects in all areas of the sexual response cycle.

In an interview for Newsweek, Dr. Dubinskaya shared that: "vibrators decrease the time to achieve orgasm, facilitate multiple orgasms and improve sex-related distress."

She continues to share that "we know, from female sexual medicine, positive sexual experiences encourage women to engage in sexual encounters in the future. It can be derived that vibrators may improve a woman's sexual desire by making sexual pleasure easily achievable in solo and/or in a partnered sexual relationship."

Her goal is to continue this research around the different types of vibrators and the various effects on a person's health. For example, if a toy is only external, will that have the same impact on pelvic floor health as an internal toy? Does a rumbly vibration create a different outcome than a buzzy vibration or a rotation (like on all the Zumio toys!)?

Here's the Good News:

We are talking about vibrators in the news, and there is actual research that is being done around this. The researchers on this team suggest that given the potential health benefits of vibrators (and other sex toys), medical professionals could recommend them for the treatment of specific conditions. 

Samantha Evans, a former nurse, co-founded and manages a sex toy company that has shared that many customers are asking for sex toys that help with specific medical conditions. For example, menopausal symptoms include sweating, vaginal atrophy, vulval/vaginal pain, low libido, decreased sexual sensation, and even an ability to enjoy orgasm. 

Dr. Dubinskaya also told Newsweek that "medical providers, especially gynecology, urology, female pelvic medicine, and reconstructive surgery, need a more elaborate education on women's sexual health and vibrators." She also believes that all this is possible because of how we're working to normalize discussions on women's sexual health. 

It's been a long time since the sexual response cycle, sex toys, and women's health were discussed. When I think back to my Master's Program, where I focused on sex therapy — we focused on Masters & Johnson's studies.

Now, could those ever happen today in 2022? No. And we can debate all day long if that's a good, bad or neutral thing. However, it does mean that we've been very limited in our understanding of women's sexual health and what's needed for baseline satisfaction, and especially what's needed for pleasure. 

Hopefully, this is the first step on a long road of showing the benefits of sex toys, pleasure aids, and other things that bring pleasure, health, and joy into our lives. Whether you are currently experiencing symptoms that you'd like to ease, you want to prevent some of these things from happening, or simply looking to increase the amount of pleasure in your life — sex toys can help.

In addition, a toy like Zumio can help you explore all of your erogenous zones and feel pleasure and other sensations in other areas. This is incredibly important to understand your body and how it responds in different areas to different types of stimulation. We don’t want to get stuck in one routine, where our brain only knows one way to climax.

Remember, orgasm happens in the brain! Happy health & exploring!