Hello again, dear friend Anonymous. Welcome back to our sex talk column where readers submit questions, and then we do our research and craft a story to give the answer.
The topic of our latest submission: Why is sex painful for me?
We tapped Dr. Kelly Culwell, board-certified ob-gyn, to answer.
“Sex can be painful for many different reasons, and the most common reasons vary by age,” she says. “The first thing to figure out is when during sex is it painful and are there certain positions that are more painful than others.
“If the pain happens right away with insertion, the most common cause would be a lack of lubrication, either from inadequate foreplay or vaginal dryness. This can be treated with extending foreplay prior to insertion, using lubrication, or treating vaginal dryness with vaginal moisturizers or vaginal estrogen therapy.
“If the pain occurs with deeper penetration, this could be a sign of endometriosis or issues with the muscles of the pelvic floor. Certain positions may be more painful than others, so you can experiment to see if there are positions that do not cause pain.
“Once you’ve determined when the pain occurs during sex and have tried some of these early suggestions, if the pain persists, you should see an ob-gyn who can evaluate your symptoms. Endometriosis can be treated medically, or in some cases, surgery is needed. For issues of the pelvic floor, your ob-gyn may refer you for pelvic floor physical therapy which can be very helpful.
“The bottom line is sex should not be painful, so definitely don’t accept this as normal!”
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