Originally Posted by johndough123
17 ml, according to the studies conducted on pumps are useless for permanent enlargement. The studies had similar protocols to Advocet’s pump routine, so the protocols were not the issue. Redbear52, thank you for your input. I think we do need to talk more about studies and biology in this forum. I am going to crack open my anatomy books before I give you a more detailed response regarding the exact tissue constituents of the tunica albugenia. You are correct in that the tunica is similar to other collagenous tissues like ligaments, tendons, and fascia. However, it is not identical and the structure is unique. My understanding of fascia in other areas of the body vary in thickness and the fascia layer of the abdomen is thicker than the tunica albugenia. I believe the tunica albugenia is only .25-.5 mm thick when the penis is erect. Even if some matrix remodeling was occurring after stretching the tunica, the layer is simply too thin to permanently expand in any large capacity beyond it’s initial constraints. The fascia layer surrounding the abdominal muscles does stretch beyond it’s normal capacity during pregnancy, but is permanently deformed afterward. Subsequent pregnancies make the condition worse and is why tummy tucks are requested by some women despite high levels of abdominal fitness following pregnancy. The reason this isn’t a huge issue is that the function of the abdominal fascia does not have to the same delicate and complex function of the tunica albugenia.
The issue still stands that no pumping study ever showed permanent size gains. Pumping literally forces more blood into the CC and CS forcing expansion and once erection is achieved pressure can be adjusted to stretch the tunica beyond it’s normal capacity and even cause injury.
Hotshot, the tunica is only an extensible tissue that envelope’s the corpora cavernosa. Even if you were to stretch the collagen, you would not limit the ability to maintain an erection, or inhibit your ability to do so. Unlike tendons and ligaments.. Which contain collagen fibrils (Type I), you should see no significant adverse events associated with a plasticity event. Ligaments and tendons exhibit both nonlinear and viscoelastic behavior under physiologic loading. Viscoelasticity indicates time dependent mechanical loading. The relationship between stress applied is not constant and depends on time of displacement or load.
Corresponding to the reduction in mechanical properties, there is a reduction in the ligament structure. Woo et al studied the affect of exercise on swine digital tendons and the FMTC. Animals were run on a track at speeds of 6 to 8 km/hr for an average of 40km/week for 3 months and 12 months.. A sedentary group was used as a control. The short term group showed no significant changes in mechanical properties for either the tendons or the FMTC. There was an increase in cross-sectional area of the tendon as well as a 22% increase in tensile strength. For the FMTC, however, there was little change in most mechanical properties, although there was a significant increase in maximum load to failure when normalized by animal weight. Another study in dogs also found higher ultimate load to body strength ratios for the FMTC. Woo put the findings on immobilization and exercise together in a graph showing how changes in mechanical load may alter ligament/tendon structure, in a statement he characterized as Wolff’s law for ligaments/tendons. Similar to Frosts theory on adult bone adaptation, where he believed it was difficult to achieve substantial increase in bone structure through mechanical loading unless damaged was caused, but that losses in bone mass were realized quite readily when loads were significantly reduced as in immobilization.
Important issues in ligament and tendon repair are how the ligament should be repaired, if applying mechanical load hinders or helps repair, and when repair has progressed to the point where complete load bearing is possible. In the case of tendons, which glide within a sheath, the introduction of passive motion for healing and repaired tendons is believed to be important because it prevents adhesion between the sheath and tendons that restricts motion. The relationship between mobilization following repair and alterations of ligament structure and function is complex, depending on how long the ligament is immobilized following repair. In a study of Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL) repair, MCL were lacerated and then repaired. In one group, the MCL was not repaired, but it was immobilized. In the second group, the MCL was repaired and immobilized for three weeks while in the third group immoblization lasted for 6 weeks. Suprisingly, the group without repair that was immobilized early showed the best gain in strength over time. This reflected changes in the structural makeup of the ligament. The amount of type I vs. Type III collagen (type III collagen is a type of collagen associated with wound healing) was closer to normal for the early mobilized ligament without repair. These results demonstrate two basic concepts: 1) in a confirmation of tissue structure function relationships, the stiffness and strength of healing ligaments correlates with the type and amount of collagen fibrils present, and 2) that mechanical stimulus has a significant affect on ligament structure.
Take home message.. You would not see the same effect.
Strt: Nov 09 6.1 x 4.5 (bpel)
Curr (June 2010): 7.25 x 4.8 (bpel)
ST Goal: 7.6 x 5 || LT Goal: 8 x 5.5