Intimacy Pain
Pain during sex is not normal. It can be a very lonely and debilitating issue to deal with on your own. Often intimacy pain is best treated with a multi-disciplinary approach including GP’s, women’s health physiotherapists, gynaecologists, psychologists and sometimes dieticians.
There are many conditions which can lead to painful sex including vulvodynia, vaginismus and endometriosis which are some of the more common conditions we treat.
As physiotherapists we can help to relax the pelvic floor muscles, as often they are very sore, tense and active which makes sexual intercourse anywhere from uncomfortable to not possible. Every client is very unique and individual, but below is a range of treatment options we employ to help people become pain free and comfortable in the pelvic region.
Treatment
> Pelvic floor relaxation and down training
> Whole body relaxation
> Breathing techniques
> Vaginal dilator therapy
> Pelvic stretches
> Gentle exercise and pilates
> Referral on to other appropriate health professionals ie. Gynaecologist or psychologist.
This is not something you have to deal with on your own, and is probably more common than you think. All of the above techniques combined with multi-disciplinary care can be very successful at reducing pain and improving sexual function.