Sexual Health

Painful Intercourse and Sexual Dysfunction can be experienced by men and women alike. Causes can include pelvic muscle spasms, Interstitial Cystitis, surgical scarring, chronic back problems, sacral or pudendal nerve problems. Many women who experience Fibromyalgia, Endometriosis, Vulvodynia, Vaginismus, or vaginal dryness after chemotherapy or menopause often have symptoms of painful intercourse. Men with Prostatitis, post-prostatectomy, Pudendal Nerve Entrapment (PNE), or other conditions may also experience dysfunction and pain during intercourse.

Treatment Options:

Counseling Session with a Licensed Psychologist
A licensed psychologist can help you cope with sexual issues, have more comfortable sexual experiences and to better understand your sexuality. They can assess your progress and identify underlying psychological issues that might contribute to both sexual problems and chronic pelvic pain conditions.

Our licensed psychologist, Dr. Stephanie Buehler, also specializes in helping cancer survivors, couples with infertility and couples in the postpartum period recover sexual function and pleasure.

Manual Therapy By A Physical Therapist
Trigger Point Release directly to the pelvic floor/ vaginal muscles is used to decrease muscle tension, nerve sensitivity and inflammation while increasing blood flow and improving tissue quality. Other modalities may be used to decrease nerve sensitivity, break up bound or scarred tissue, decrease inflammation, and re-educate muscles. As the body is very complex, we also assess other systems such as surrounding organs, the spine, and nerve systems.

Pilates
Once your muscles are lengthened and less tense, we need to give them a new memory–a new way to function properly. That is where specialty “core” exercises help. Your physical therapist will coordinate with one of our certified Pilates Instructors to create exercises to help strengthen and decrease tension in the pelvic floor muscles (as they are part of your “core”), and create a more functional posture.

Acupuncture
Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine has helped many of our patients overcome painful intercourse. Our Acupuncturist can give treatments to increase blood and energy flow through all systems of the body. She is even able to do needling techniques directly to the vaginal/ pelvic muscles.

Massage therapy
Often when there is tension in the vaginal/ pelvic muscles, other areas of the body are also affected. Muscle tension restricts blood flow and can decrease organ health, cause headaches, and decrease the ability for the body to rid of its waste through the lymph system. Massage therapy is helpful for regaining muscle balance and decreasing toxin build up.

Guided imagery
Guided imagery is an amazing treatment technique used to help with relaxation and to decrease pain. Our guided imagery therapist, Rhona Jordan, C. Glt, C. CHt offers this unique therapy. Guided imagery can be done in a private session with Rhona, and she also can work with you IN TANDEM with other therapies to increase the healing experience. For example, she can help during your physical therapy to increase relaxation and blood flow, during Acupuncture for connecting the points of light for the complete quantum physics, and during massage for a deeper relaxation and emotional release.