A happy and satisfying sex life can be an important piece to your overall wellness puzzle, so when it becomes a source of pain, you want some answers.
The reality is that painful intercourse is incredibly common — 75% of women experience painful sex at some point in their lives.
As varied as the women who experience painful sex are, so are the reasons behind the common issue. For an explanation, we turn to board-certified gynecologist Dr. Karen F. Brodman.
In the following, we explore when pelvic pain during and after sex might be considered normal and when it most definitely is not.
Painful sex is a broad term that encompasses a surprising number of ways in which sex can hurt.
One of the first steps we take in getting to the bottom of painful sex is to investigate the nature of the pain, which can show up as:
By narrowing down the type of pain you’re experiencing, we can hone in on the potential list of causes.
We hesitate to label any pain as normal, but pain is an undeniable fact of life, and it can happen in almost every area of your health, including your sexual health.
For example, there are some circumstances that can make sex temporarily uncomfortable, such as:
Again, these aren’t exactly “normal” issues, but they’re temporary and typically easily resolved through treatment or with patience.
Painful sex often points to a larger issue. The most common include:
One of the most common reasons for painful sex is menopause. The loss of reproductive hormones leads to vaginal dryness in more than half of postmenopausal women, which can make sex less than pleasurable.
The good news is that there are hormone therapies we can recommend to restore vaginal health and lubrication.
This common gynecologic condition, which affects about 11% of reproductive-aged women, can lead to adhesions inside the pelvic cavity. Often, the act of intercourse can tug on these adhesions and lead to pain during and after sex.
If you’re struggling with deep pelvic pain that’s related to endometriosis, we can explore surgically removing the adhesions.
Despite awareness efforts, sexually transmitted infections still make their unwanted rounds. One of the byproducts of untreated STIs is pelvic inflammatory disease, which includes painful sex as one of its primary symptoms.
The good news is that, in most cases, treating PID is relatively easy, and a course of antibiotics should resolve the issue.
This issue is classified as a pain disorder that affects your vulva — your external genitalia. As with most pain disorders, vulvodynia is complex and multi-factoral and can involve heightened nerve sensitivity.
Treating vulvodynia often involves a multi-pronged approach because it’s not a straightforward condition with a readily identifiable cause. This approach can include antidepressants, pelvic floor work, and behavioral therapies.
This list is by no means comprehensive, and there are other potential drivers of painful sex. However, it’s a good start that illustrates the scope of the issue.
The bottom line is that if your sex life has taken a turn because of painful intercourse, it’s important to see a medical professional.
We invite you to get answers with Dr. Brodman. To schedule, please contact us to schedule an appointment at our New York City office, which is located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
