We wanted to highlight a condition that we often see here at legacy physical therapy, that is, Pain with sex after having a baby. The medical term for pain with sex is called dyspareunia.
We are using a patient sample case today, we’ll call her Jane. Jane was experiencing painful intercourse due to scarring from her previous childbirth via vaginal delivery 2.5 years ago. She experienced a grade 2 scar.
- The grade level is based on the level of tissue that is impacted between the opening of the vaginal canal to the anus, this area of tissue is known as the perineum.
- A grade 2 scar means there was tearing in the skin of the perineum and some of the superficial pelvic floor muscles.
When she came to see us, she had delivered her second daughter nine months prior to her initial exam with us which means she had been through 2 pregnancies and deliveries before her physician referred her to us at legacy physical therapy.
When the pelvic floor was examined:
- She had significant restrictions along the scar and perineum with a lot of tightness and stiff.
- She had significant pain with touch along the scar.
This patient was treated for 10 sessions due to the severity of the scar and high pain levels associated with touching the area. During these sessions:
- we focused on manual techniques to mobilize and stretch the scar and muscles surrounding the area.
- We instructed her on how to self stretch at home
- Discussed lubricant use with sex to reduce friction on the scar.
After 10 sessions, she was absolutely pain free and able to return to enjoying intercourse. This is just one example of the success that we see with pelvic rehab. We’ve treated many other women with similar presentations following a vaginal delivery, and all have had success with pelvic floor therapy. This particular case took a little bit longer to treat because of the severity of it & the chronic nature of how long she’s had the issue for. There have been other cases where some patients need three or four sessions of therapy and they’re good to go.
If you are someone or you know someone that has a similar issue, please reach out out to us and schedule a free discovery visit because this condition is very treatable.
