New research has found one in 10 Australian men have been found to suffer from a painful condition that makes their penises curve.
Peyronie's disease is a chronic inflammation condition that can lead to the penis appearing curved or indented, news.com.au reports.
Those with the condition can have a curve of between 30 to 60 degrees on their penis.
It begins when the penis is injured and tries to heal itself. Scar tissue builds in an unusual fashion, leading to an irregular shape.
This can happen whether the penis is erect or flaccid at the time of the injury.
The Urological Society of Australia and New Zealand discovered the disease's prevalence after studying 1300 Australian men.
They also found more than 25 percent of men are bothered by the appearance of their erect penis, one in six experience pain or discomfort when erect, and one in five have difficulty during sex.
The lead author on the study, Professor Eric Chung, said life could be challenging for those afflicted by the disease.
"Having a curved erection can make it difficult to have penetrative sex, it can cause pain to the man or their partner," he told news.com.au.
"Plus it can affect blood flow so it may cause erectile dysfunction."
Prof Chung said the disease can have devastating psychological effects due to the way it affects men's sex life and there's a lack of knowledge of Peyronie's disease among general practitioners.
"This is a sexual condition that remains a very taboo and private thing," he said.
"A lot of patients find it difficult to speak to someone and many GPs don't have any understanding about the condition."
Newshub.
