Dyspareunia: What It Is and How to Treat It

About US

Welcome to the #LifeCantWait Blog, SPEAR Physical Therapy’s official stream for fitness tips, exercise advice, and healthy lifestyle inspiration. Our articles and features are written by our physical therapists and staff members with your progress in mind. Designed to educate and motivate, SPEAR’s #LifeCantWait Blog exists to share your stories and help you get back to life! Disclaimer

Posted in:

Pelvic floor physical therapy is one of the many specialties offered at SPEAR, and can help address a multitude of conditions, including Dyspareunia, a condition where the person experiences persistent or recurrent genital pain that occurs just before, during, or after intercourse. There are many home “remedies”, like warm baths or drinking wine. While some of these techniques may allow sex to be a little more tolerable, they don’t address the root cause of the problem. Painful sex can occur for several reasons, many of which can be addressed with pelvic floor physical therapy. The pelvic floor muscles are the muscles within the pelvis and play a big role in sexual function.

What is Dyspareunia?

Painful sex, also known as dyspareunia, is the complaint of persistent or recurrent pain or discomfort associated with attempted or complete vaginal penetration, usually in reference to sexual activity. Dyspareunia can be superficial (discomfort on initial vaginal entry), deep (discomfort on deeper penetration), or both. Pain is typically localized to the vagina or lower pelvis and occurs in the absence of other pathology.

Superficial Dyspareunia

Deep Dyspareunia

Causes of Dyspareunia

Causes of dyspareunia can include:

Vaginal dryness
Skin diseases involving the vulva
Menopause
Vaginismus (muscle spasms of the pelvic floor)
Emotional stress/trauma
Pelvic organ prolapse
Endometriosis or other pelvic organ pathology

Treatment for Dyspareunia

The treatment and management of dyspareunia is based on the cause of the dysfunction. If the cause is pelvic floor muscular dysfunction, physical therapy is one of the first lines of treatment. Physical therapy treatments may include:

Behavioral modification
Biofeedback
Manual therapy techniques
Patient education
Pelvic floor muscle re-education
Relaxation techniques

Some adjunct techniques that also help to treat dyspareunia are:

Meditation and breathing techniques
Use of dilators or wand for tight muscles
Sex therapy or other talk therapy
Education of partner if applicable

Dyspareunia is a commonly diagnosed but rarely discussed. Patients often feel embarrassment, shame or helplessness, but pelvic floor physical therapy has been shown to be effective in the management of dyspareunia.

If you suffer from painful sex or are interested in learning more about dyspareunia, come see a pelvic floor physical therapist at SPEAR today.

Dyspareunia: What It Is and How to Treat It

Explore

About Spear

Locations