Individuals living with spinal cord injuries may need to re-examine their relationship with sex and pleasure following medical trauma. A person who underwent surgery to remove a spinal cord tumor shared their experience of navigating changes to their body and sex life.
Dr. Lisa Ruppert, a physiatrist and spinal cord injury specialist at Memorial Sloan Kettering cancer center, explained that sensory disorders such as temperature dysregulation, heightened or dulled touch sensitivity, and sexual dysfunction can occur after spinal cord injury and surgery. She noted that concerns about having sex again are common for people with such injuries.
Dr. Ruppert discussed strategies to trigger arousal, including keeping lights on for visual stimulation and staying on top of sheets to reduce sensory overload. She also suggested exploring whether and where erogenous zones may have shifted. Sexual arousal involves both reflexogenic arousal, triggered by direct touch, and psychogenic arousal, stimulated by thoughts, fantasies, and other sensory inputs.