Start Your Pelvic Health Journey
Alphabetical Index of Articles on Women's Sexual, Pelvic Floor, and Reproductive Health
Did You Know There's More Than Just Sex? Sensate Focus Can Help
How much do we really learn about intimacy, affection, sensual touching and sex while growing up?
A lot of our references for intimacy come from what we see in our families, movies, and for sex, a lot of the time porn. What we are individually exposed to will possibly become what we think is the norm, which can then possibly skew our views towards intimacy with a partner. For instance, if a woman watches porn for a sex reference she may think her vulva has to look a certain way or that she needs to attain an orgasm with penetration or to be intimate with her partner she has to have sex, when that’s not really the case.
Giddy: You Need to Know These 4 Facts if Your Partner Has Dyspareunia
We've got lots of articles on dealing with dsypareunia and the painful sex that often accompanies it, but what if it's not you suffering, but instead your partner has dyspareunia? Giddy writer Alex Denny wanted to find some answers and reached out to me for my thoughts. Here are some snippets from the article, followed by a link to the full article at the Giddy website.
Heather Jeffcoat, DPTHere's What You Need to Know if Your Partner Has Dyspareunia
Author: Alex Denny
Reviewer: Vita Eizans, D.O.Support goes a long way when your significant other suffers from painful intercourse.
Many people experience painful intercourse at some point in their lives. Whether you needed more lubricant or you just weren't in the mood—the reason doesn't matter—it's not unusual to occasionally feel pain during sex.
How to Involve Your Partner in Your Pelvic Floor Therapy
Involving your partner in your pelvic floor therapy may improve your outcomes and your relationship.
Here are some ways you can involve your partner in your pelvic floor physical therapy:
Start Talking About Your Experience.
Both studies and clinical experience have shown that talking to your partner about your sexuality, pelvic floor issues, and sharing the progress you’re making in pelvic floor therapy can improve anxiety, reduce pain levels, and bring more intimacy to your relationship. As you transition to sex with your partner, sexual assertiveness will also help you find activities, angles, and positions that feel pleasurable, not painful to you and your partner.
Sexual Assertiveness May Reduce Your Pelvic Pain
Communicating with your partner about your sexuality may reduce your pelvic pain and increase your sexual function.
A 2016 study by McNicoll et al. suggests that Sexual Assertiveness,or the ability to communicate openly to your partner about your sexual experience, may reduce the pain experienced with provoked vestibulodynia (PVD), increase sexual function, and encourage your partner to communicate you in ways that help boost your sexual health.
How Sexual Assertiveness May Reduce Your Pain
Pelvic pain and pain with sex may come from several different avenues, including vaginismus, vulvodynia, vestibulodynia, endometriosis, or tissue changes caused by menopause. The 2016 study by McNicoll et al. specifically worked with women with provoked vestibulodynia.
