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There can be many reasons for pain during vaginal intercourse. Conditions like vaginismus and vulvodynia can make penetration hurt even if you're super turned on and just put on plenty of lube. Sexual trauma could be one cause; endometriosis, a condition where the tissue that normally lines the uterus grows outside of it, is another.
Sex, of course, should never be narrowly defined as just penetration. But, if you find yourself wanting to have intercourse, there are some angles and positions that can potentially reduce, or even fully avoid, discomfort. For instance, “[People] with endometriosis typically have pain upon deeper thrusting, so positions that limit the depth of penetration are key,” says Heather Jeffcoat, a doctor of physical therapy and author of Sex Without Pain: A Self Treatment Guide to the Sex Life You Deserve. If this all sounds familiar, here are five positions you can try (and, of course, if you've never seen a gynaecologist about this, please do so first!
