How is it possible that it can be impossible to have sex? Ask the thousands of women around the world who suffer from vaginismus. They are normal women like you and me who love their partners and who would love to have sex with them but are living in unconsummated relationships due to vaginismus.

People who suffer from vaginismus have a few things in common:

Involuntary Pelvic Floor Muscle Contraction

This is often described as 'hitting a wall'. Depending in the degree of the contraction, the women often have an inability to do the following:
• Insert a tampon
• Undergo a gynecological examination
• Have penetrative sex

Intense Fear Of Penetration

In some cases it can be so severe that the woman gets a panic attack when an examination is attempted or if her partner goes anywhere near her genitals. The reason for this fear differs from patient to patient, but some patterns that we do see are:
• Ladies who had very strict religious upbringing with misconceptions about sex
• Ladies who have experienced childhood sexual abuse
• Ladies with general anxiety disorders
In many cases, no specific cause for this fear can be established.

Pain Associated With Penetration

Because of the severe muscle spasm penetration is painful, which reinforces the fear and sets of the vicious cycle over and over again.

What is the good the news? There is treatment for vaginismus!

During the treatment we brake the vicious cycle by teaching the ladies to relax and control their pelvic floor muscles through physiotherapy and biofeedback. This makes penetration possible and not painful. In this process, we also help them to deal with the fear through cognitive behavioral therapy and sex therapy. In some severe cases, botox is used to relax the pelvic floor muscles.

When Sex Seems Impossible is a new book by Dr Peter T Pacik (Odyne Publishing) telling the stories of the many women he has seen with vaginismus – a very interesting read.