Cricket legend Sir Ian Botham bravely reveals impotence treatment after having privates zapped
CRICKET legend Sir Ian Botham today bravely reveals he has been having impotence treatment — and urges other men not to suffer in silence.
Sir Ian, 60, had shockwave therapy that zapped his privates to combat any future erectile dysfunction.
He said: “Men don’t want to confront this head-on but they must. I haven’t got a problem but I don’t want a problem.”
The cricket legend had four “Test Match Special” sessions across the summer — one before each of England’s clashes against Pakistan.
Speaking after his final session of Vigore Linear Shockwave Therapy, Sir Ian said: “I’m a male and men do have problems and you have to front up to them.
“There’s no downside to this — only a big upside.
“It’s prevention rather than cure. I didn’t need the treatment but I didn’t want to be worrying about it in ten years’ time.
Sir Ian, nicknamed Beefy, was renowned for his colourful love life during his playing career.
Model Lindy Field once claimed they had such wild sex in Barbados that they broke the bed.
He is now speaking out about his own treatment in an effort to stop erectile dysfunction being such a taboo subject among embarrassed male sufferers.
The condition affects up to five million British men — but many suffer in silence.
It is believed sufferers can see the break-up of long-term relationships because of a lack of intimacy.
Reformed hell-raiser Sir Ian, who has been married to wife Kath for 40 years, said: “I’m saying to guys, ‘Men’s health is important.’
“People don’t want to confront this head-on but they should do.
“I hope this becomes a talking point and that people break the taboo.
“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about.
“What’s more embarrassing? This or going to a chemist and popping some pills and saying to your partner, ‘I’ll be with you in 20 minutes, I’m just waiting for this to work?’
“People are starting to man up. I want to give a gentle jolt in the right direction.
“Once this comes out I am sure there are a lot of people who will have a quiet word with me and ask if it works.”
Sir Ian has had acoustic shockwave sessions in clinics around the country before stepping into the Test match commentary box.
He said: “Yes, I have had a treatment before every Test — London, Manchester, Birmingham, London.”
Sir Ian said of the sessions: “Once the ice is broken, you just get your kecks off and get on with it.
“Let’s put it this way, if you go to a dentist with toothache, he doesn’t operate on your toe, does he?
“The machine is put on you — and it’s to rejuvenate the vessels in that part of your anatomy.
“You don’t really feel anything. It makes a noise and then you’re done and dusted.
RELATED STORIES
“It’s 20 minutes once a week for four weeks. You’re attached to a machine and you chat to your nurse and then you’re gone.”
Sir Ian was told about the Vigore treatment for “sexual performance rejuvenation” by a doctor as he underwent other medical checks.
It works through low intensity shockwaves sent to four areas of the groin and penis to increase blood supply.
Erectile dysfunction can be caused by physical or psychological factors — including heart problems, diabetes, obesity, anxiety, stress and even guilt.
Sir Ian said that although he had no symptoms of erectile dysfunction, turning 60 had been a factor in seeking treatment.
He said: “We live in a society where people think they’re invincible and they’re not.
“I go once a year for a full medical. I have a full blood test, cancer screening and cardiology.
“The reason for that is the same reason as this. I want to be ahead of the game, not behind the game.
“I have never used Viagra because I have never needed to. There are side effects to popping pills.
WAVE POWER
THE Vigore treatment uses a machine that produces acoustic waves to target four separate points of the patient’s groin and penis.
Each point is treated for around five minutes — making a session lasting for about 20 minutes in total. It regenerates tissue and blood vessels in the groin area.
A good flow of blood is vital to achieve and maintain an erection.
Vigore’s Low Intensity Shockwave Therapy is also used for sport injuries.
“Obviously, being 60 is a milestone. A lot of people never thought I’d get there.
“My life has changed drastically. My hell-raising days are gone. The 48-hour binges are gone. I keep myself fit.
“It’s a good thing — apart from being a shame for the wine industry.”
Sir Ian said his marriage to Kath, 61, was now “the strongest in the UK”.
The couple almost split in 2001 when details of a two-year affair with Aussie waitress Kylie Verrells emerged.
Kylie later said: “Ian is a phenomenal lover. He demands sex all the time.”
But dad-of-three Sir Ian is now firmly focused on his family life.
He said: “Kath has got a gold medal for 40 years of putting up with me.
“We are strong and happy and have a great life.
“We enjoy our marriage and want to keep enjoying it for many years.
“I hope this treatment will improve things in the bedroom department — that’s the whole point of it.
“I’m trying to give myself a better life for a lot longer.
“The amount of marriages that fail at this stage of life because of men having a problem is huge. They are breaking down because of a lack of intimacy.
“I would say to blokes, ‘Don’t be shy. If you’ve got a problem, go and sort it out.”
Sir Ian was knighted in 2007 for his cricket achievements and his charity work.
His sponsored walks and campaigning for leukaemia research have helped raise the chances of survival from 20 per cent a few years ago to more than 95 per cent.
And he is now excited at the prospect of Vigore treatment being used on other parts of the body.
He said: “This could have all kinds of health benefits. Who knows what this could do for people with heart problems, for example?”
“What excites me is not what it can do for your manhood but what it can do for the rest of the body.
“If it can rejuvenate vessels there, it could do it elsewhere. Specialists are very excited about it.”
52% OF MEN HIT
By DR SHERIF WAKIL, who treated Botham
AROUND five per cent of men of 40 suffer some sort of erectile dysfunction — and that goes up to 52 per cent aged 40 to 70.
It is nothing to be ashamed about. It is simply an aspect of ageing. The machine accelerates tissue repair and releases nitrous oxide to increase blood flow.
There are no side effects reported from clinical studies and the success rate is well over 80 per cent.