Painful Intercourse (Dyspareunia): Causes, Support and Solutions

Painful Intercourse (Dyspareunia)

Dyspareunia is the medical name given to painful intercourse or pain during sex. This is a really common problem, affecting nearly 10% of females at some point in their life. There is usually a simple solution.

Causes of Painful Intercourse

There’s quite a few different things that can cause painful intercourse, and these include:

Lack of lubrication
Positioning
Dyspareunia (pain in the vagina, clitoris or labia during or after sex)
Vaginismus (where your vaginal muscles clench involuntarily)
Infection such as thrush
Vulvodynia (where your whole intimate area is painful)
Endometriosis (where the womb lining cells grow outside the womb)
Fibroids (benign tumours that grow in and around the womb)
A sensitive cervix
Injury
Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs)

This list doesn’t cover everything, so if you are suffering from pain during intercourse, it’s good to see either your GP or visit your local GUM for advice and to get checked.

Kegel8 for your pelvic pain

Treatment for Painful Intercourse

The treatment given for dyspareunia or painful intercourse depends on what’s causing the pain. One of the first things that you will be recommended to do is to take things slowly and try using plenty of water-based, body-friendly lubricant or a natural balm such as Kegel8 Miracle Balm, it is 100% natural with no chemicals, parabens or hormones.

It’s also really common to suffer from painful intercourse after the menopause, because the walls of the vagina can become thinner in what’s called vaginal atrophy. This is easily solved with an oestrogen cream from your doctor.

If it’s vaginismus that’s causing painful intercourse, there are things that can help. Vaginal dilators, such as the Kegel8 Vaginal Dilators can help you to learn to relax your muscles during penetration, and when used with lots of Kegel8 Dilator Lubricant, they are a simple and effective, drug-free vaginismus treatment.

Our new Kegel8 Ultra Pelvic Trainer features a pain relief programme designed to relax your muscles, and on the new unit, this can be used in conjunction with skin electrodes if using a probe vaginally would just be too painful.

Pain Shouldn't Be Part of Pleasure

If sex has become something to brace for rather than look forward to, you're not alone — and you don't have to just live with it. Ohnut, the makers of the original wearable comfort ring, and their Kiwi massager, were built by people who understood pain during intimacy from lived experience, not just theory. What started as a Kickstarter idea in 2018 quickly caught the attention of institutions like Mayo Clinic and Harvard's Cancer Research Center, and Ohnut is now recommended by over 5,000 healthcare practices across the US — a sign of just how needed evidence-based tools in this space really are. At Kegel8, we're proud to bring products like these to the UK, because we understand the connection between pain and pleasure, and we believe support here should be as practical as it is compassionate. Whether the cause is menopause, endometriosis, vaginismus, cancer treatment, or something less easily labelled, help is available — and you deserve to feel comfortable again.

If you’re suffering from dyspareunia or pain during intercourse, it’s important to see your doctor, there are simple solutions that can really help you to live your life and enjoy your relationship again. Download this FREE Guide about Pelvic Pain - written by Specialist Physiotherapist Amanda Savage to learn more about pelvic Pain and how Kegel8 can help.