Abnormally Aside, Beyond, Apart From, or Against a Bed
A Comment on Dyspareunia (Painful Sex)
Pelvic Floor Therapy for Painful Sex?
Did you know that painful sex is not necessarily normal? As a pelvic floor physical therapist, it can be hard to hear some of the stories that my patients and friends share about the discomfort that they feel during sexual intercourse. Many times, this discomfort is related to tight pelvic floor musculature and the solution can be as simple as some stretches and a quick manual therapy routine.What is Dyspareunia?
The scope of what a pelvic floor physical therapist treats includes dyspareunia, otherwise known as painful penetration or painful sexual intercourse. This term also relates to important components of a woman’s life as it can include difficulty using a tampon, pain with ObGyn examinations, and is vital to women looking to become pregnant who might be unable to accommodate their partner. Unfortunately, most people might be confused when hearing the term “dyspareunia” if and when they encounter this in their medical checkups, and do not understand completely what it means. So, let’s take a minute to break down the medical jargon with some very helpful techniques that I learned in my college and grad school education.
How we break down the roots…
First, we look at the roots of the word.
Dys-: difficulty, pain, or trouble
Par(a): beside, abnormal, involving two parts
-Eunia: relating to a bed
Next, we sling it all together: abnormal pain relating to the bedroom.
What does the pelvic floor therapist do?
Now that we understand what dyspareunia relates to, let’s talk a little bit about how to go about treating it. First and foremost, you should schedule an evaluation with a pelvic floor physical therapist to assess the whole pelvic floor area, to see which specific muscles and structures are involved.
The therapist might also assess your back and hips to get a better understanding of the orthopedic picture. After this, the therapist will communicate their findings and come up with a plan of care specific to your condition. Most of the time this includes the use of manual techniques (trigger point release), stretching, and strengthening of the affected areas. Occasionally the therapist might also suggest the use of dilators or biofeedback devices to help advance treatment (if you don’t know what these are, stay tuned for next month’s blog).
Three exercises that can help the pelvic floor.
If you are curious about some exercises you can perform on your own to help reduce pain and bring general wellness to your pelvic floor, check out the video below. The three exercises I have included here are for lengthening, breathing and strengthening of your pelvic floor.
1. Happy Baby:
Lay on your back with your feet in the air, pull down on your feet towards the floor for a stretch in your pelvic floor and inner thighs.
2. Breathing (50-80%):
Take a deep breath into your belly with your arms overhead about 50% of your max breath. Continue to breathe in and out from 50-80% to help unload your pelvic floor.
3. Pelvic Floor Stretches in Quadruped
Start on your hands and knees, drop to your elbows with your hips still in the air. Take a few deep breaths into your pelvic floor, feel free to finish with some kegels to get further activation on the breath out.
Please do not hesitate to contact our office in Flatiron, NYC if you are experiencing any pain with penetration or dyspareunia for a free consult!
