Well actuallyTech mogul Bryan Johnson swears by the rejuvenating power of shockwave therapy. A good sleep is a safer place to start
In an interview on the Diary of a CEO podcast in November, the 46-year-old tech mogul Bryan Johnson shared an update on his genitals. The anti-ageing fanatic, who has spent over $4m since 2021 to attempt to reverse the “biological age” of his body and increase his longevity, said that he was two months into a course of experimental shockwave therapy on his penis, and that as a result, his penis felt “15 years younger”.
“You have a wand and you sit in a chair and then the technician uses the wand and basically shocks your penis,” Johnson explained. He went on to say that the treatment does the same thing exercise does to the rest of the body, where you are creating micro-injuries so that the tissue rebuilds itself stronger than before. He rated the pain of the shocks as seven out of 10, and nine out of 10 at the tip.
Congratulations and best wishes to Johnson who seems very happy with his newly 31-year-old genitals. But what does all of this mean for regular people with penises who don’t want a stranger to painfully shock their glans with a wand?
We asked some experts about what shockwave therapy is, how you can tell if your penis is healthy and what you can do to keep it healthy.
What makes a healthy penis?
“The barometer of men’s health is erectile function: how strong the erection is, and the ability to maintain erection,” says Dr Amin Herati, director of male infertility and men’s health at Johns Hopkins hospital.
The frequency of spontaneous erections at night and in the mornings is another indicator of health. Herati warned that an absence of these spontaneous nighttime erections, as well as diminished quality in the strength of or ability to maintain erections, could be signs that one’s hormones are off-kilter. These changes are worth taking seriously, as they can point to other serious conditions, like cardiovascular disease.
“I always refer to the penis as the ‘divining rod of vascular health’,” says Dr Petar Bajic, director of the Center for Men’s Health in the Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute at the Cleveland Clinic.
The penis is a very blood flow-dependent organ, Bajic explained. Erectile rigidity depends on the cavernosal arteries, two blood vessels that measure less than a millimeter in diameter. Any hardening of these arteries caused by plaque buildup – a common symptom of cardiovascular disease – reduces the amount of blood flow to the area and can result in erectile dysfunction (ED). “There’s some solid evidence that ED can precede a heart attack by five years,” Bajic said.
Erectile dysfunction can also be the result of issues including anxiety, depression, a testosterone deficit, nerve damage or substance abuse. “For somebody to have an erection, a lot of pieces have to be working,” Herati explained.
And while the quality of one’s erections might be the easiest way to take measure of your health, Bajic added that other factors such as healthy urination and STD prevention are also important components of penile health.
How can penis health be improved?
Though they’re less exciting sounding than a shock wand, run-of-the-mill lifestyle changes are often the first step to a healthier penis, particularly for those experiencing mild to moderate erectile dysfunction.
“Exercise, diet and sleep are the easiest ways to address the psychological factors,” says Herati.
Cardiovascular exercise in particular is helpful, says Bajic, who recommends at least five minutes of exercise that gets you out of breath, three to four times a week. If you continue to struggle with ED, Bajic recommends reaching out to a urologist.
Bajic also notes that some patients are prescribed medications that can contribute to erectile dysfunction, and therefore stop taking them. He strongly urges against this and recommends talking to your prescribing physician about alternative options instead. “Something I commonly see in my practice is a man might have been prescribed blood pressure pills and he stops taking it. And then he comes into the office and his blood pressure is wildly out of control, and at that point his erectile function has deteriorated so much you can’t get it back.”
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One of the worst things you can do for penis health? Smoke. “Nicotine use is a big cause of erectile dysfunction because of its negative impact on blood flow,” Bajic says.
Is penile shockwave therapy effective and safe?
Shockwave therapy on the penis has been around for years, primarily as a treatment for kidney stones. But in the US, it’s not an FDA-approved treatment for ED. As Johnson explained in his interview, a small wand-like device sends targeted sound waves along the tissue of the penis.
“We’re still pretty early on in investigating shockwave therapy,” says Bajic. One of the problems with the research on the treatment right now, he says, is that there’s no consistency in how it’s administered. “Some might do six weekly sessions, some might do four, all using different devices and different amounts of energy.”
While some studies show promising results – particularly for people with mild erectile dysfunction and no other significant medical problems – it is hard to draw strong conclusions as to its efficacy.
“I can’t emphasize enough that this is not a treatment meant for everybody,” says Bajic. “If you’re not the right fit for it, it may be a waste of time. And if you’re not part of a clinical trial where you’re getting the treatment for free, it may be a waste of money.”
Is reverse ageing the secret to a healthy penis?
Not necessarily, but it’s worth taking penile health seriously. Herati says that he believes what Johnson is trying to convey with his claim isn’t a clearcut age reduction, but an overall improvement in health. “He’s talking about better vasculature and better tissue health,” he says, adding: “I’m not sure that shockwave therapy alone can accomplish that.”
Overall, Bajic says, people with penises “need to look at that organ through a broader lens that takes their whole body and cardiovascular health into consideration”.
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