Spinal Cord Injury Information

I sincerely hope the information presented will be useful and help you and yours cope with this devastating injury.

If you do not find a subject shown here, please let me know and I will certainly try to research the information and present it on this website in continuing updates.

SCI INFORMATION, Changes

This important section is devoted to the changes that take place in the SCI body, and includes important information on the circulatory system, the respiratory system, the psychology and psychosocial adjustment of the SCI, even sexuality, sex after SCI.

Male Ejaculation 

  In order for ejaculation to occur, there must be a fine-tuned coordination of all the different parts of the nervous system. Think about a defensive play in football. When one team member doesn’t do what he’s supposed to do, the play may not come out as planned. The same thing happens in spinal cord injury. Some nerves cannot do what they used to do. Therefore, ejaculation may not happen. (see below)

  Part of the process that allows normal ejaculation is closure of the bladder neck so that semen can flow past the bladder and out of the urethra. In many spinal cord injured men, retrograde ejaculation occurs. This happens when the bladder neck stays open and semen travels the easy, shorter pathway into the bladder rather than the long distance out of the urethra.

  If you have an incomplete injury, you’re more likely to ejaculate than those men with complete injuries. But, some spinal cord injured men defy all knowledge of science and ejaculate a good deal of the time. The best way to check out your ejaculatory status is to try it out. Don’t be too impatient. Give yourself a few chances to see if this system still works.

  If you can ejaculate or have any mucus-like fluid from your penis during sexual activity, you will need to use birth control if you do not want your partner to get pregnant.

  If you want specific details on ejaculation and fertility (the ability to father children), ask a member of the rehabilitation team or your health care provider. They’ll get you the answers or refer you to someone who will.