Can women with complete spinal cord injuries have an orgasm?
Until a few years ago, there was a common belief that men and women with complete injuries were not capable of achieving a physiological orgasm. Instead, memories of the past, feelings of closeness and a sense of well-being were described as an “emotional orgasm” and were offered as a substitute to a physical orgasm. The research done by Marca Sipski, M.D. at Kessler Rehabilitation Center and at the University of Miami has clearly demonstrated otherwise. This groundbreaking research is worth reviewing by women who see this as important. Although the physical reasons for this are still unclear, many women of all levels and with complete injuries can be orgasmic under the right conditions. Some of the factors that have been found to correlate with the ability to have an orgasm are: comfort with one’s body, persistence, knowledge about one’s sexuality and intensity of stimulation. To date, no studies have demonstrated similar results for men with spinal cord injuries.
