Painful Intercourse Specialist
Enliven, PC Our Services Painful Intercourse
Painful intercourse has many possible causes, but one of the most common occurs when you reach menopause. Loss of estrogen causes normal changes in vaginal tissues, which makes intercourse painful. The experts at Enliven, PC. can treat the underlying cause by rejuvenating vaginal tissues with the MonaLisa Touch®. This gentle laser treatment was specifically developed to restore vaginal tissues back the their healthy, premenopausal state, which eliminates painful intercourse. Call the office in Colorado Springs, Colorado, or schedule an appointment online to learn more about this quick, painless treatment.
Painful Intercourse Q & A
What is painful intercourse?
Painful intercourse, or dyspareunia, is persistent or recurring pain that occurs just before, during, or after intercourse. You may feel pain only during sexual intercourse, or you may feel pain with every penetration, even while inserting a tampon. The pain may feel deep, burning, or aching. Intercourse-related pain can last for hours after intercourse.
What causes painful intercourse?
When you have pain during intercourse, it may be due to a health condition such as pelvic inflammatory disease, uterine prolapse, fibroids, irritable bowel syndrome, or endometriosis, to name just a few possible underlying conditions.
Some women may have a condition called strabismus, which causes involuntary muscle spasms in the vagina that make penetration painful. Emotional factors like anxiety, stress, or relationship problems may contribute to the problem.
Another common cause of painful intercourse occurs when women reach menopause. Low levels of estrogen cause a condition called vaginal atrophy, which can make intercourse painful.
Estrogen is essential for maintaining a healthy vagina. It keeps the vaginal wall strong, elastic, and lubricated. When you lose estrogen at menopause, vaginal tissues lose tone and elasticity and the vaginal wall becomes thin.
Vaginal atrophy also causes vaginal dryness and burning. As a result of these changes, sexual intercourse is painful. After intercourse, the vagina may become inflamed, which contributes to pain.
Vaginal atrophy may also cause bleeding after intercourse and lead to urinary incontinence, which often results in urine leaking during intercourse. While that's not physically painful, it's embarrassing enough to make you avoid sex.
How does MonaLisa Touch treat the physical changes caused by menopause?
The MonaLisa Touch is an advanced laser treatment that was designed to rejuvenate vaginal tissues affected by atrophy, dryness, and thinning. The fractional CO2 laser gently warms vaginal tissues, which causes the physical changes.
The laser activates cells that synthesize new collagen and hyaluronic acid. At the same time, the treatment restores a normal blood supply. As these changes take place, atrophy is reversed. The new tissues that grow are stronger, thicker, and better toned. The treatment also restores the vagina back to its normal acidity, which prevents inflammation and infection.
After three treatments with the MonaLisa Touch, symptoms like burning, itching, and dryness improve by about 75-85%. Dyspareunia, or painful intercourse, improves by about 72%.