Rachel Frey, CMT

Specializing in MFR

Rachel Frey (she/her) is a Certified Massage Therapist specializing in the John F. Barnes Myofascial Release Approach. After a decade in the apparel industry, Rachel knew it was time to channel the energetic sensitivity in her hands to be a conduit for others' healing journey. Rachel believes in our bodies' innate intelligence to heal ourselves and is moved by gentle modalities such as MFR for their transformational power to connect deeply within and release trapped physical and emotional energy.

Why is having sex and inserting tampons painful for some?

Vaginismus explained

Vaginismus is one of our main areas of focus here at Femina Physical Therapy. Since the founding of Fusion Wellness and Femina PT we have seen great strides being made in the acceptance of a vaginismus diagnosis as something that is not only real, but treatable. So it's good to see a major internet presence like Yahoo! taking note of the subject and spreading the news to a wider audience.

The Yahoo! article defines vaginismus as "the involuntary tightening of the vaginal muscles that makes wanted penetration very painful or even impossible", and it then goes into some depth on some well known causes, myths, and treatments. Here are some snippets from the article interspersed with my own thoughts where needed.

Femina PT (née Fusion Wellness & Physical Therapy) has been such an answer to prayer, i'm so glad I found them! I've been struggling with vaginismus my whole life, but didn't have a name for it until about 6 or 7 months ago. Even once I did have a name for it though, I didn't know where to begin in getting help. My OB/GYN had me get a set of dilators, but I couldn't even insert the smallest one by myself. Most times I tried I just ended up frustrated and in tears. I felt really alone, like I was broken and didn't have the energy to keep trying. When I got engaged a few months ago though, I realized I needed to get answers so i wasn't dreading my honeymoon.