How Neck Pain Can Impact Your Sex Life

Neck pain doesn’t just mess with your comfort—it can affect your entire quality of life, including your sex life. When we evaluate treatment success for cervical spine issues, we don’t just look at pain relief or mobility—we also look at how someone’s life improves. For many people, that includes being able to enjoy intimacy again.

Sex and Cervical Spine Issues

We see a lot of patients looking for second opinions after being told they need neck surgery—or who’ve already had it. Often, they’re dealing with cervical instability, herniated discs, or other spinal problems that show up as weird, seemingly unrelated symptoms: nerve pain, balance issues, even sexual dysfunction.

Men, for example, might struggle with erectile dysfunction or retrograde ejaculation (where semen flows into the bladder instead of out). Women may feel pain during sex or become hypersensitive to touch. The fear of causing more damage just makes it worse.

While sexual health isn’t usually the main reason people seek neck treatment, it often plays a bigger role than expected in recovery goals.

Symptoms That Might Be Related

If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone:

• Neck and back pain
• Blurry vision
• Poor balance or coordination
• Tingling in arms and legs
• Chest discomfort (but no heart issues)
• Low sex drive or difficulty during sex

Some women also report pelvic pain, bladder issues, or no longer enjoying touch—especially after cervical surgery or when dealing with conditions like Ehlers-Danlos syndrome or POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome).

It’s Not Just In Your Head

One woman said she visited multiple specialists—chiropractor, cardiologist, gynecologist—but no one could explain her strange combo of symptoms: tinnitus, migraines, vision changes, rapid heart rate, and zero sex drive. Another shared how she lost all desire for sex, felt “vibrations” in her pelvis, and dealt with bladder urgency, migraines, and overwhelming fatigue.

How Common Is This?

A study from the University of Cambridge asked people with cervical myelopathy (spinal cord compression) what symptoms they most wanted to fix:

• 40% said pain
• 20% said walking problems
• Only 6% said sexual function

But that 6% is still significant. It means 1 in 20 patients prioritize sex as part of their recovery.

Doctors Are Starting to Catch On

A case study from Greece detailed a 51-year-old man with worsening neck pain and erectile dysfunction. His symptoms included numbness, hand weakness, and unstable walking. Imaging showed spinal cord compression. His symptoms briefly improved with steroids but returned worse than before—confirming a link between neck issues and ED.

Does Surgery Help?

Sometimes, yes—but not always. A UCSF study found that nearly half of post-surgery patients couldn’t resume sexual positions they enjoyed before surgery. Many had worse sexual function after surgery, often linked to pain meds, depression, or anxiety.

That said, another study found that successful cervical surgery often leads to improved sexual function—especially when psychological stress is reduced. But it’s not a guarantee.

What About Non-Surgical Options?

Many of these symptoms come from cervical instability—where the ligaments holding your spine together become loose or damaged. When vertebrae shift too much, it can mess with nerves, blood flow, and hormone regulation.

Prolotherapy, a non-surgical injection treatment using dextrose (a type of sugar), aims to tighten those ligaments and stabilize the spine. It’s minimally invasive and has shown positive results in restoring not just pain relief but other functions too.

Surprising Connections

A 2021 study suggested that tinnitus (ringing in the ears) and erectile dysfunction may be linked—possibly due to shared nerve and blood flow issues. Another study connected sexual activity and vertigo, especially in people with nervous system dysregulation from cervical instability.

Researchers found that vertigo during sex may come from hormone imbalances, ear problems, or poor blood flow to the brain—things that often trace back to the neck.

What You Need to Know Before Considering Surgery

Neck surgery might be recommended if other treatments haven’t worked. Common procedures include spinal fusion or disc replacement. But before going under the knife, it’s worth ruling out instability in your cervical ligaments—something that often gets overlooked.

Final Thoughts

Neck pain and sexual dysfunction can absolutely be connected. Whether it’s through nerve compression, poor circulation, or instability, addressing the root cause can make a big difference—not just in how your neck feels, but how you live.

If you're dealing with neck pain and any of the symptoms above, don’t brush it off. Whether through targeted therapies like Prolotherapy or a full treatment plan, recovery might be closer than you think.

Need help figuring it out? Call us at (707) 474-5688 and we’ll walk you through the next steps.