pain

How an IUD is placed, at which points during the procedure people can experience pain, and pain management options that can be used during this procedure.

Part two of a series on vaginal trainers from Caitlyn Tivy, a pelvic health physical therapist and health writer. This part of the series explains more about the specifics of using them.

Perhaps you’ve heard of dilators — also known as vaginal trainers — before, but you weren’t sure where to learn more about them. Maybe you’ve never heard of them, but you’re looking for ways to manage pelvic pain. Perhaps you’ve already tried using dilators, but weren’t very successful. You can read all about them here.

This edition of Pelvic Problems covers one of the most common problems that pelvic health physical therapists encounter: the non-relaxing pelvic floor (NRPF). This can cause a variety of symptoms, ranging from constipation and difficulty peeing to pain with sex and sitting. Fortunately, there’s a lot that can be done to help people with non-relaxing pelvic floors!

If you're here because you or your partner(s) have experienced pain with anal sex, you’re in the right place, regardless of whether the pain has happened multiple times or just once. I’m here to shine some light on anodyspareunia, a fancy name for anal sex being painful.

Endometriosis is a complicated and often debilitating condition. It’s believed to occur in approximately 10% of people with uteruses of “reproductive age." That’s approximately 200 million people worldwide – a whole lot of folks! About two-thirds of people with the condition will develop symptoms before the age of 20, but it may take several years and consultations with multiple healthcare providers to receive a diagnosis. One of my missions in spreading awareness about endometriosis is to help more people receive a diagnosis and appropriate care more quickly.

I can spot one big thing that's making sex unpleasant for you, and it has zero to do with your brain or body being "wrong". It's got everything to do with your boyfriend. Before I go into why that is, there's something else that needs addressing. You mention someone abused you as a child, and I'm so...

The short answer is yep, using a vibrator should not compromise an IUD should you choose to get one. You can banish fears of enjoying a session with your favorite external vibe only to see your IUD on the floor. If you're concerned about the interaction between the IUD strings and an inserted toy...

Generally, fear serves a very important and useful function. It helps us recognize things to validly be afraid of and allows us to defend or put ourselves on guard against or around those things; to do what we need to to keep ourselves safe and sound. Fear of pain is particularly adaptive. It often...

amenie358's question continued: I should mention that I've seen a gynecologist and she says there's no sort of physical impediment involved and that if I practice I'll be able to do it, but it's so uncomfortable. It's not getting easier. When I visit the gynecologist I have to be tanked up on valium...