Sexual function and intimacy
Neurological changes can affect sensation, arousal, erection, lubrication, ejaculation, orgasm, pain, fatigue, positioning, confidence, and communication.
Sexual health is part of health
Sexual changes are common and often under-discussed. They can reflect neurological signaling, blood flow, sensation, medication, pain, pelvic-floor function, mood, fatigue, mobility, relationship context, or a combination.
People of every gender, age, orientation, and relationship status deserve respectful information and the opportunity to set their own goals.
Different goals need different expertise
- A prescribing clinician can review medication effects and medical options.
- Urology, gynecology, or sexual-medicine specialists can evaluate organ, hormonal, vascular, or reproductive concerns.
- Pelvic health and neurological rehabilitation may address pain, movement, positioning, fatigue, muscle coordination, and body awareness.
- A qualified counselor or sex therapist may support communication, identity, grief, desire, and relationship changes.
Care should be consent-led
You can ask why any question or examination is being proposed, request alternatives, pause, bring a support person, or decline. An internal pelvic examination is not automatically required for useful care.
Sources and review notes
This page summarizes authoritative guidance in plain language. It does not reproduce a full clinical guideline or replace individualized assessment.
- Intimacy, Sexuality and Connection After SCI — Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center
- Pelvic Rehabilitation and Parkinson's Disease — Parkinson's Foundation Learning Lab