Does a cock ring help maintain erection?
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Does a cock ring help maintain erection?
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© 2009 - 2024 Michael Castleman
Possibly, but don’t expect miracles.
The theory behind cock rings is that by compressing the base of the penis, you hold more blood in the organ during erection–like pinching the open end of a filled balloon–hence stronger, firmer, longer-lasting erections. In fact, that’s physiologically mistaken. Blood circulates through the penis when it’s flaccid and when it’s erect. During sexual arousal, the arteries that run through the center of the organ and carry blood into the penis relax and open up (dilate), allowing more blood in. This changes the in/out ratio. You have more blood coming in and the same amount flowing out, so there’s extra blood in the penis that collects in the erectile tissues in its center. As this extra blood triggers erection, the expanding penis presses against the veins that sit near the penis skin, compressing them a bit and reducing outflow, which also helps erection.
Cock rings pinch the outer penis, compressing the veins a bit more and reducing outflow a little more than happens naturally. So in this sense, cock rings help maintain erection. A little.
In addition, cock rings have psychological impact. Men believe they’re helping, and given the mind/body nature of sexuality, that belief exerts a placebo effect that can also help.
But maintaining extra inflow through the arteries is more important to the process than limiting outflow through the veins. To maintain the extra inflow, the most important element is deep relaxation. Ways to encourage deep, erection-raising relaxation include: hot baths or showers before sex, deep meditative breathing during sex, and leisurely, playful, whole-body massage that includes the penis but is not fixated on it. These approaches not only help maintain erection, but they also help with ejaculatory control.
So use a cock ring if you like, but understand that it plays only a minor supporting role in erection.