Bad Sperm Morphology

Triathlon Forum
1

Sorry if this is TMI, but my wife and I have been trying to get pregnant for about 1.5 years now. We already have one awesome little man, and have miscarried twice but that was before I started training seriously about 2 years ago.

We got labs back today and my sperm shape (morphology) is like 1% good (4% is normal so it’s bad).

It seems like I might have this - https://arm.coloradowomenshealth.com/doctors-blog/bicycling-affect-male-fertility/?

Anyone have any experience here? I’ll quit tomorrow to be able to have more kids if it will help.

Feel free to PM me if you’d rather.

Thanks,
Todd

2

I’ve been surprised at how little is vested in resolving male infertility when it comes to, otherwise healthy, endurance athletes and cyclists in particular. When I have tried to discuss the topic (a lot of road cycling) with our physicians, they never had much to offer. Its just the same old low-hanging fruit of diet, alcohol and stress.

So, what’s a scientist to do? Well, grab my browser and head to the journal databases.

After a slow start (gotta find the right vein of conversation) I settled on these 5 articles. There are likely pay-walls standing between you and the full text, so as to read for yourself. You could send these to your physician and ask for comment, but my personal, non-medico surmisal is: 1) ride less than 5 hrs a week, 2) keep 'em cool. Temperature being prominent as it is significant and affects all of us.

An important note, the spermatogenosis process is around 64 days. So, alterations would probably need to occur of a roughly equivalent timeframe, all, of course, depending at which point in the cycle things are falling down. So, a timed 3-day lay off we might think of first, probably won’t suffice.
Gebreegziabher, Y., Marcos, E., McKinon, W., & Rogers, G. (2004). Sperm characteristics of endurance trained cyclists. International Journal of Sports Medicine, 25(4), 247–251. http://doi.org/10.1055/s-2004-819933Ivell, R. (2007). Lifestyle impact and the biology of the human scrotum. Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology, 5(1), 15. http://doi.org/10.1186/1477-7827-5-15Jóźków, P., & Rossato, M. (2016). The Impact of Intense Exercise on Semen Quality. American Journal of Men’s Health, 1557988316669045. http://doi.org/...177/1557988316669045Kipandula, W., & Lampiao, F. (2015). Semen profiles of young men involved as bicycle taxi cyclists in Mangochi District, Malawi: A case-control study. Malawi Medical Journal : the Journal of Medical Association of Malawi, 27(4), 151–153.Sharpe, R. M. (2010). Environmental/lifestyle effects on spermatogenesis. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences, 365(1546), 1697–1712. http://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2009.0206

3

Not TMI, something that guys should discuss more freely. We were in the same position trying to conceive our first child. I had good count, but poor morphology. I took a few months off the bike (doc recommended), took about 5-7 different vitamins which help with sperm production, no caffeine or alcohol, and focused on managing stress. The next test showed a material improvement and we were pregnant with our second IUI. Our second one came along naturally, which was a nice surprise.

In my opinion, so much of fertility medicine is focused on the woman with costly interventions before any attention is focused on the man. It doesn’t cost much to improve your situation. Just a little time and a few small sacrifices.

Good luck. PM me if you want me to try to dig up the list of vitamins.

4

I would offer the same advice. Take some time off the bike. Then go get tested again.

5

I’ve got poor morphology as well. We’ve been through the expense of 2 failed IVF (ICSI, specifically) procedures, plus IUI, etc before that. After around $50k invested into the whole thing, we’ve called it quits. I think taking a few months off of the bike is certainly worth a try, but my Urologist was/is actually a Cat 2 cyclist locally and didn’t give much to it being cycling related, I actually tested poorly after around 9 months off of the bike because I was training for a 100 mile running race. His thoughts were it could be caused by things more along the lines of heat buildup from running/cycling as opposed to pressure on the peronium, but didn’t have research one way or the other to support his thoughts, as there isn’t a lot of research out there.

Either way, it’s certainly worth trying whatever is within reason if you and your physician think it is worth it. My own realization after going through the process is my wife and I had a point where we finally said no more - find that point for yourself and don’t cross it. Kids are great, etc, but it’s not worth totally stressing yourself physically and financially just to try and have them.

6

keep the laptop off your lap as well
.

7

I’m going to take the contrarian point of view here and say that cycling likely doesn’t have that significant of an impact. The website from the physician is full of as much conjecture as I am giving here. It stands to reason that cyclists are healthier than a typical male population. I would expect to see decreased incidence of hypertension, coronary artery disease, fatigue and stress.

When I think about this too, someone who rides daily is likely on their bike 14-21 hours per week in total- a max of 12.5% of the hours in a week. Office workers spend far more time sitting on their asses in front of a computer screen being inactive. As well, it is known that you can actually change your genetics with activity or inactivity.

Consider the possibility that one’s own age and medical status has more to do with reproductive capabilities than riding a bike for 12% of your week. Just like a women’s reproductive risk increases drammatically over 35 , men over the age of 35 show decreased sperm functioning as well.

Good luck to you.

8

Just getting back to you with an update. One physiological issue that can have a real impact on fertility is if you have a significant varicocele. I recommend you speak to a urologist, as a physical exam might be all that’s necessary, but a further ultrasound is even better. If it turns out to be the case, there is a corrective procedure.