Sexual Dysfunction

Sexual dysfunction can drastically affect your quality of life. Whether you are dealing with painful intercourse, difficulty achieving orgasm, painful ejaculation, or other sexual issue, we can help.

Pain during or after sex can stem from an over active pelvic floor. The muscles of the pelvic floor have a guarding reflex that can activate from injury, emotional trauma, UTI, surgery, or expectation of pain. The muscles tense to protect the area from the trauma. Sometimes the guarding reflex does not turn off immediately after it senses a threat, potential danger, or pain. The reflex can trigger the muscles to guard from anywhere in the body. Bringing the reflex back to neutral can require focus on mind body connection, full body relaxation, as well as specific focused treatment to the pelvic floor muscles to re-educate them on what neutral muscle tension is. 

Bringing the pelvic floor muscles back to neutral requires internal and external techniques to stretch and lengthen the tissues as well as promote blood flow and soft tissue healing. The process of shutting off the guarding reflex and returning the tissues to normal can take days, weeks, or months to achieve. Consistency with relaxation, manual stretching, deep breathing, and therapeutic care will reduce muscle tension and promote return to a neutral, relaxed state.

Intercourse techniques and “othercourse” approaches are used alongside therapeutic treatment to encourage muscle re-setting that allows for pain free intercourse.