Q. I have just started having sex with my boyfriend and I have realised that I feel more pain than pleasure during intercourse. The foreplay is great, but as soon as it comes to the intercourse, it hurts. We have tried different sex positions and even worked on improved foreplay, but in vain. Due to the pain, I haven't yet orgasmed once. This is also hampering our sex life very badly. What can be the causes of pain during sex? Is it something serious? 

Ans.  It is not uncommon for women to experience pain during or after sex. While some women experience pain in the vaginal area, for some women the whole pelvic area hurts. However, when it comes to the reasons, it can range from some physical like an infection to psychological reasons like fear of intimacy. Often the problem of thrush, chlamydia, gonorrhoea or genital herpes may cause pain during sex and for older women, it may also be menopause. Vaginal dryness is yet another cause of pain during sex, however, lube or better foreplay is a great solution to that. Here are some of the reasons that you might be experiencing pain during sex:

  1. Vaginismus: One of the commonest reasons for painful sex has to be vaginismus, it causes involuntary spasm in the vaginal muscles.

  2. Endometriosis: When tissue similar to that of the uterus grows outside the uterus, it may cause painful sex.

  3. Infections: Yeast infections, thrush, amongst other infection may lead to discomfort during sex

  4. Cysts on the ovaries.

  5. Uterus Issues: Fibroids can cause deep intercourse pain.

  6. Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID):  PID causes the tissues to become inflamed and intercourse causes more pain and discomfort.

  7. Menopause:  Older women with menopause may lack lubrication in the vaginal lining. Dry vagina often leads to painful intercourse.

Many women experience psychological problems like anxiety, stress, depression, body image issues, fear of intimacy may cause painful sex. Usually, these psychological causes make your pelvic floor muscles to tighten in response to penetration, in turn, causing pain.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 06, 2020 05:00 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).