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The Victorians were right up with the trend started in Ancient Greece where arthritis was treated by the application of electricity – the Greeks used the Torpedo fish to deliver the shocks. Electrotherapy became the most popular form of treatment being used somewhat indiscriminately by both the medical profession and “quacks” to cure more or less any ailment. But its popularity was its downfall. Just as the indiscriminate use of steroids in the 20th Century was slowly recognized as harming more people than it cured, the power of electricity to heal was slowly seen as non-existent in most cases. The only real exception was in the mental health field where electricity was used as a therapy to treat depressive disorders that had not responded to any other forms of treatment. However, flying somewhat under the radar was a more interesting use of electricity – as an aversion therapy where shocks were administered to discourage people from finding pleasure in different activities. It became moderately popular among families as a treatment for alcoholism and drug addiction, but it attracted extreme controversy when used to treat homosexuality and other aspects of sexual behavior. On ethical and legal grounds, the use of electricity in an attempt to change human sexuality is banned in most countries.

It therefore comes as something of a surprise to see research from the Rambam Medical Center in Haifa. The clinical trial applied electric shocks to the penis, testicles and groin area generally as a treatment for erectile dysfunction. The results are claimed to show a high success rate, matching or exceeding the results achieved by taking pills of different colors, shapes and sizes. Unlike those who specialize in the use of electricity as torture, this team administered very low energy shock waves. Something the men were no doubt grateful for. So, after regular treatment with three hundred mini-shocks being applied within a three minute window, most of the men demonstrated a rapid rise to a hard erection the moment anyone approached them with electrodes or a cattle prod in hand. None of the participants complained of pain – either they were enjoying the experience or were frightened the voltage would be cranked up in the next session.

The claimed scientific effect of these shocks is to either stimulate the growth of new blood vessels or to encourage tired old blood vessels back into life. This has a significant advantage over the use of drugs. If new blood vessels are formed or the hardening of old vessels is reversed, this would represent a “cure”. All the drugs can do is produce a temporary dilation of the relevant arteries. They do not cure the underlying condition.

Ignoring the potential humor of threatening to attach electrodes to your gonads as a medical treatment, the skeptical Victorians were right. There never has been any convincing scientific evidence to show electricity is or can be an effective treatment for any condition. Which leaves the vast majority of men back where they started. Viagra is the best treatment for erectile dysfunction. No matter what the claims of the Israeli team to produce a long-term cure, the experience of taking one viagra gives more than enough time to enjoy a length period of sexual activity. To repeat the activity, take another pill. Anyone else should go to their local BDSM club.