A Urologist Explains 3 Ways You Can Injure Yourself While Masturbating

Self-pleasure is an important part of a healthy sex life, and can be a great way to relieve stress—but in rare instances, it can also lead to harm. In a recent video on her YouTube channel, urologist and sex educator Rena Malik MD outlines three examples of how the way you masturbate can affect your sexual performance.

Traumatic masturbation syndrome

This is a phenomenon experienced by people who masturbate in a prone, face-down position or with their penis pressed against a surface or rubbing through their clothes. While there’s not a great amount of data out there on this subject, Malik states that people who experience traumatic masturbation syndrome can report low sex drive or issues sustaining erections and reaching orgasm, as well as premature ejaculation.

“Death grip”

This colloquial term refers to exactly what you think. Having too firm or aggressive a grip on your penis during masturbating can lead to habituation, where your body becomes accustomed to a certain set of stimuli, making it more difficult to experience pleasure. Malik notes this can lead to a “vicious cycle” where people use a firmer and firmer grip as a result of the reduced sensation, which only worsens the problem.

Idiosyncratic masturbation method

This describes a style of masturbating or specific fantasy which cannot be recreated with a sexual partner, leading to difficulty in reaching climax. “Unfortunately, this can be very difficult to talk about with your partner,” says Malik.

She adds that you are experiencing issues with sensation or reaching orgasm, it is also important to rule out any underlying medical causes, such as a decrease in testosterone, injury, medication side effects, or a change to your exercise regime.