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Women’s Health

VAGINISMUS: DEFINITION, CAUSES AND TREATMENT

 

         Definition

According to Wikipedia, “Vaginismus, sometimes called vaginism and genito-pelvic pain disorder, is a condition that affects a woman’s ability to engage in vaginal penetration, including sexual intercourse, manual penetration, insertion of tampons or menstrual cups, and the penetration involved in gynecological examinations (pap tests)”.

 

Types of Vaginismus:

 
Vaginismus can be experienced by women at any age or time in life. There are two major classifications:
* Primary vaginismus and
*Secondary vaginismus.
The medical community typically uses these terms to indicate the time of onset. These labels assist the professionals and researchers in diagnosis and classification. For the individual woman, the distinction between the two types tend to be of low significance. The good news is that both are highly treatable.
Primary Vaginismus:
 
Primary vaginismus usually refers to the experience of vaginismus with first-time intercourse attempts. Usually, primary vaginismus will be discovered when a woman attempts to have sex for the very first time. The spouse/partner is unable to achieve penetration and it is like he “bumps into a wall” where there should be the opening to the vagina, making entry impossible or extremely difficult. Primary vaginismus is a common cause of many sexless, unconsummated marriages. Some women with primary vaginismus will also experience problems with tampon insertion or having gynecological exams.
Primary vaginismus is often idiopathic.

Secondary Vaginismus:

 
Secondary vaginismus usually refers to the experience of developing vaginismus a little later in life, after a period of pain-free intercourse. Medical conditions such as yeast infections, cancer, trauma (such as rape) or thinning of the vaginal walls due to menopause can trigger the vaginismus condition. Vaginismus should be considered when a woman continues to experience ongoing sexual pain after her medical problem has been treated and healed. A woman’s ability to experience orgasms can also be affected as a sudden pain spasm may abruptly terminate the arousal buildup toward orgasm (we would all agree that this can be a nuisance). Some women with secondary vaginismus may also experience difficulty with gynecological exams or tampon insertion due to involuntary tightness.

Variations in the Classifications:

 
Note that these definitions can be a bit restrictive in some cases. For example, some women are able to tolerate years of uncomfortable but bearable intercourse with gradually increasing pain and discomfort that eventually becomes so pronounced that sex is no longer bearable. Women may also experience years of intermittent difficulty with entry or movement and have to constantly be on their guard to try to control and relax their pelvic area when it suddenly “acts up.”
Vaginismus has a wide range of manifestations, from impossible penetration, to intercourse with discomfort, pain or burning, all resulting from involuntary pelvic tightness.
Other Classifications:
 
Beyond the above basic classifications, physicians and specialists may use other medical terms referring to vaginismus such as:
Apareunia is a general term that refers to a condition where one is unable to have sexual intercourse. Vaginismus is one type of apareunia (if it is completely preventing penetrative intercourse).

Causes of Vaginismus

 
Some common triggers for Vaginismus include:
*Fear of pain associated with penetration, particularly the popular misconception of “breaking” the hymen upon the first attempt at penetration, or the idea that vaginal penetration will inevitably hurt the first time it occurs.
*Chronic pain conditions and harm-avoidance behaviour.
any physically invasive trauma (not necessarily involving or even near the genitals)
*Generalized anxiety
*Stress
*Negative emotional reaction towards sexual stimulation, e.g. disgust both at a deliberate level and also at a more implicit level.
*Strict conservative moral education, which also can elicit negative emotions.
Etiology:
The pain experienced during vaginismus is caused by the involuntary contraction of the pelvic floor muscles – specifically the pubococcygeus (PC) muscle group – leading to generalized muscle spasm and temporary cessation of breathing. Most times this is involuntary and psychological.
Treatment:
Vaginismus is highly treatable. Successful vaginismus treatment does not require drugs, surgery, hypnosis, nor any other complex invasive technique. It is mostly psychological in nature. Effective treatment approaches combine pelvic floor control exercises, insertion or dilation training, pain elimination techniques, transition steps, and exercises designed to help women identify, express and resolve any contributing emotional components.
Sex Therapy & Counseling:
Education typically involves learning about your anatomy and what happens during sexual arousal and intercourse. You’ll get information about the muscles involved in vaginismus too. This can help you understand how the parts of the body work and how your body is responding. Counseling may involve you alone or with your partner. Working with a counselor who specializes in sexual disorders may be helpful. Relaxation techniques and hypnosis may also promote relaxation and help you feel more comfortable with intercourse.
Vaginal Dilators:
Your doctor or professional may recommend learning to use vaginal dilators under the supervision of a professional.
Place the cone-shaped dilators in your vagina. The dilators will get progressively bigger. This helps the vaginal muscles stretch and become flexible. To increase intimacy, have your partner help you insert the dilators. After completing the course of treatment with a set of dilators, you and your partner can try to have intercourse again.

 

Kegel Exercises:
To perform Kegel exercises, repeatedly tighten and relax your pelvic floor muscles, which control your vagina, rectum, and bladder. You can locate these muscles when you’re urinating. After you begin to urinate, stop the stream. You’re using your pelvic floor muscles to do this. You may feel them tighten and move. These muscles move as a group, so they all contract and relax at the same time.
Practicing these exercises helps you control when your muscles contract and relax. Follow these steps:
  1. Empty your bladder.
  2. Contract your pelvic floor muscles, and count to 10.
  3. Relax your muscles, and count to 10.
  4. Repeat this cycle 10 times, three times a day.
  5. To successfully strengthen your pelvic floor muscles, don’t engage the muscles of your abdomen, buttocks, or thighs when doing these exercises.
After a few days, insert one finger, up to about the first knuckle joint, inside the vagina while doing the exercises. It’s a good idea to clip your fingernails first and use a lubricating jelly. Or do the exercises in a bathtub, where water is a natural lubricant. Start with one finger and work your way up to three. You’ll feel the vagina’s muscles contracting around your finger, and you can always take your finger out if you’re not comfortable.
This approach is called progressive desensitization and the idea is to get comfortable with insertion.
Sources:
 
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Men’s Health

WORKING OUT FOR THE BEDROOM 2

Even More Tips for Better Sex

If pushups, crunches, and deadlifts aren’t your idea of a sweaty good time, you’ve still got plenty of exercise options to help keep things steamy.

Pick your pleasure: Sexual Dysfunction

Rather walk, swim, or jog? How about Pilates or yoga? Maybe you prefer biking or skiing? Great, because Paul Frediani, fitness coach and co-author of Sex Flex: The Way to Enhanced Intimacy and Pleasure , says “barring any health problems, cardiovascular exercise of any kind is a great way to stimulate your sex life”. Now trust me, enjoying the stuff you do helps relieves you of the stress of the activity, makes you look forward to it and enhances it’s benefits.
But you’ll want to avoid the weekend warrior syndrome to get the most out of exercising. Th.s means you have to exercise more than just on weekends to reap full benefits. Aim for a 30-minute workout five times a week. Get your blood pumping regularly and the payoff is simple: endurance, more strength to hold positions, and the flexibility to hold them comfortably. Now that’s sexy. *wink*

Bonus: Better Erections!
Wowza!

You may already be sold on the benefits of exercise, but here’s a bonus free of charge. Exercise may also help beat erectile dysfunction. One study showed that, for men over 50, being physically active means a 30% lower risk of erectile dysfunction as compared to men who are sedentary. Studies also show a strong link between obesity and erectile dysfuncton.
In addition, people who exercise often have a better body image than people who don’t. This can help them feel more sexually appealingnt and confide. One study found that “80% of men and 60% of females who exercised two to three times a week felt their sexual desirability was above average,” Weil says. Exercise could also help produce more muscles, which in turn increases testosterone production and sex drive.

Practice! Practice!! Practice!!!

If you’re not lasting as long as you’d like in bed, you might need some practice. While sex is the best way to practice for sex, masturbation can also help you improve your longevity.
However, how you masturbate could have detrimental effects. If you rush through it, you could inadvertently decrease the time you last with your partner. The secret is making it last, just like you want to when you’re not alone.

Dietary Management of Sexual Dysfunction

Erectile Dysfunction

Certain foods can also help increase blood flow towards those parts you want them most. They include:

Onions and garlic: These foods may not be great for your breath, but they can help your blood circulation.

 

 

Bananas: This potassium-rich fruit can help lower your blood pressure, which can benefit your important sexual parts and boost sexual performance.Erectile Dysfunction

 

 

Chilies and peppers: All-natural spicy foods help your blood flow by reducing hypertension and inflammation.

Nutrients that can help you achieve better blood flow:

Omega-3 acids: This type of fat increases blood flow. You can find it in salmon, tuna, avocados, and olive oil.

Vitamin B-1: This vitamin helps signals in your nervous system move quicker, including signals from your brain to your penis. It’s found in pork, peanuts, and kidney beans.

Eggs: 

High in other B vitamins, eggs help balance hormone levels. This can decrease stress that often inhibits an erection.

Sources:

http://www.healthline.com/health-slideshow/male-sexual-performance.Accessed 27th July, 2016.

http://www.askmen.com/dating/love_tip_250/287b_love_tip.html

http://www.webmd.com/men/features/exercises-better-sex. Accessed 27th July, 2016.

Hamilton, L.D., Rellini, A.H., & Meston, C.M. “Cortisol, sexual arousal, and affect in response to sexual stimuli” Journal of Sexual Medicine 5 (2008): 2111-18.Accessed 27th July, 2016.

Ojanlatva, A., et al. “Sexual activity and perceived health among FinnisAccessed 27th July, 2016.h middle-aged women.” Health and Quality of Life Outcomes 4 (2006).Accessed 27th July, 2016.

McNamara, E., Alfred-Thomas, J., & Freedland, S.J., “Exercise Correlates to Higher Sexual Function Scores in a Cohort of Healthy Men” (paper presented at the 105 Annual Meeting of the American Urological Association, 31 May 2010).Accessed 27th July, 2016.

His and Her Heath. ” Smoking, Lack of Exercise Impacts Sexual and Urinary Function .” Accessed 27th July, 2016.

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LifeStyleMen’s HealthWomen’s Health

WORKING OUT FOR THE BEDROOM

Regular Physical Activity Can Lead to Enhanced Arousal!

During exercise feel good chemicals called endorphins are released, and this same release happens during sex. The more frequently one can trigger these endorphins release via sex or exercise, the easier it is to become sexually aroused. The sex organs depend a lot on blood pressure. The brain sends signals to them that causes vessels to swell with blood. Your heart is responsible for pumping the blood. If your heart isn’t at its healthiest, it can cause problems with blood flow from the heart to the vessels in the vagina and penis. This can make it difficult to achieve a full arousal and affect overall sexual satisfaction. Make sure your circulatory system is working at top shape, because basically, what’s good for your heart is good for your sexual health!

Sex and Exercise

Strength training could be just what the doctor ordered for your sex life. The reason being that “weight lifting causes the body to produce testosterone , which is the primary precursor for the male sex drive,” says McCall, who recommends lifting enough to feel fatigue by the 10th repetition. In fact, some studies have linked short intense exercise, such as weight lifting, with increased testosterone levels. To improve your sex life, do some push-ups, sit-ups, and crunches. These muscle-building exercises can help lead to better sex by strengthening the shoulders, chest, and abs. Strong upper body strength can increase stamina since these muscles are most used during intercourse.

Kegels:

sex and exercise

Kegels is a wonderful exercise for both the male and female sexual health because these exercises can help endurance and control by toning the pubococcygeus (PC) muscles — the ones that let you stop the flow of urine mid-stream. They help the men stay harder longer and prevent premature ejaculation. For the women, it’s keeps yuuou tight and firm down there and helps you achieve orgasm faster! (tip: try doing this exercise while he’s inside you and watch the both of you explode together). Named after Los Angeles physician Arnold Kegel, they strengthen the muscles in your body’s pelvic floor, which can lead to better sex. “Men can use Kegels to delay ejaculation by contracting these muscles just before orgasm,” says McCall. To do Kegels, start by interrupting the flow of urine when going to the bathroom to get familiar with your PC muscles. After that, you can do Kegels anytime and any place by squeezing the PC muscles. Hold for 10 seconds, relax, and do as many reps as you can before tiring.

Fast Walking:

In a study of 31,000 men over age 50, Harvard researchers found that aerobic exercise resulted in a 30-percent lower risk of erectile dysfunction (ED) . More specifically, according to another study, aerobic activity that burns at least 200 calories per day (equal to fast walking for two miles) can significantly lower the risk of ED. Brisk walking is thought to help ED by improving circulation and blood flow. “Fast walking, running, and other aerobic activities help your sex life for the same reason that they prevent heart attacks,” says McCall. “They keep your blood vessels clear.” The result can be stronger and longer erections. Vigorous activities, such as running and brisk walking, also release endorphins and relax you, which can boost sexual performance.

Swimming:

sex and exercise

In another Harvard study of 160 male and female swimmers, swimmers in their 60’s reported sex lives comparable to those in their 40s. Since sexual activity can be an act of endurance, long-distance swimming can keep you going and going like the Energizer bunny. “Swimming for at least 30 minutes three times a week will increase sexual endurance,” says McCall. Swimming is also a great activity for weight loss, which can also lead to better sex. A randomized, single-blind study of 110 obese men with ED found that losing just 10 percent of their body weight improved sexual function in one third of the men. And it’s no secret that losing excess body fat will help attain those six-pack abs and make you more attractive to potential partners. The result: better sex!

Core Strengthening:

sex and exercise

Strength in the abdomen, pelvis, middle and lower back is what “core strength” refers to. A couple of good exercises to improve core strength are abdominal crunches and alternate arm leg raises. Alternate arm leg raise is where you begin on all fours facing down with knees bent, and then lift the opposite arm and leg at the same time. Hold this for a few seconds and then swap sides. Not only will this be good for your core, it will also work your shoulders and glutes, plus help with balance .

Upper Body Work:

Any sexual position where you have to support yourself using the arms (such as missionary for the man) requires strength in your upper body. Key exercises to help strengthen are push ups, which work the chest and triceps, the rowing machine in the gym, or using free weights to do various upper body sets, such as bicep curls, tricep push backs, and shoulder press.

Try This:

Lie on your back, hands supporting your neck, knees bent, and your feet on the floor. Then bring your body up just enough to get your shoulders off the ground. Do 3 to 5 sets of 15 to 20 repetitions.
For additional ab strength, Weil suggests men and women also do bridges. Lying on your back, knees bent, feet on the floor, lift your hips up and down for 3 sets of 15 reps. Men can also try pelvic tilts. Standing up or lying down, straighten your lower back and pull your belly button in until your lower back touches the wall or floor. Women can try Kegels.

Deadlifts:

sex and exercise

“This exercise will keep your back as strong as it can be”, Weil says, and give your legs and torso a workout too. You start in a neutral bent-over position and raise a weighted barbell or dumbbells from the ground.

 

Squats:

Just like the previous exercise, everyone has heard of these.
Squats will help you in a very similar way to how deadlifts help you: through hip extension. These can be very tiring as well, so if you’re performing high reps, you’ll definitely be getting some cardio in as well. And we all know how much that can help in the bedroom.

sex and exercise
But another, and often overlooked way, that squats can help your sex life is by getting you used to standing while carrying weight. Many people have the fantasy of having sex against the wall while holding their partner. This is something that requires a great amount of strength and not a lot of people can do this. Squats will develop your leg and back strength to such an extent that you’ll quickly see that holding your partner against the wall isn’t as hard as it seems to be. Many people are scared to perform these as well, out of fear of injuring their knees. As mentioned before, if performed correctly, squats are 100% safe. Take your time to learn the form, and do not feel obliged to lift heavy weights!

Planks:

These are a great exercise that will really come in handy while you’re in missionary position. This position can be very exhausting for your arms and abs. What better way to get better at missionary than basically mimicking the movement?
There are many ways that you can perform planks . The first and most simple way is to do a plank on your elbows. The next step up would be to hold it in a push up position. If that get’s too easy for you, then you can hold it while having your hands on an exercise ball instead of the ground. The last variation is the hardest, but also the most effective, and the one that will benefit you the most in bed. Keeping a tight core while your body wants to move around is directly going to benefit you while you’re

Interval Training (HIIT):

Sex isn’t a sprint…well, not always. It has a cardio component to it. But something that a lot of people forget is that sex isn’t something that you do at a constant rate. You go fast. Then slow. Then fast. Then slow. You’re always changing it up. And your training should reflect this.
This is where interval training comes into play (also known as HIIT , high intensity interval training). HIIT can be done with your preference of cardio. I like to do it on the bike.

sex and exercsie
The way it works is you split your workout into intervals. You sprint all out for 15 seconds, and then go at a steady state for 90 seconds. You keep switching between the two for a total of 10-15 min.
Incorporating HIIT into your workouts will have you ready for exactly what’s to come later that night in the bedroom.

 

Leg Raises:

This is an ab exercise that your girl will thank you for doing.
We all know that the g-spot is located at the top of the vagina. To hit the spot during sex, we have to tilt our pelvis upwards as we thrust. This is exactly what leg raises achieve. You are raising your legs to your chest, effectively training your ability to tilt your pelvis upwards.
Leg raises can be done either with a back support, or by hanging off of a pull up bar, or with bent legs, or with straight legs. The latter is more difficult in both cases, but if you can work your way to being able to doing those, you’ll definitely see the benefits.

Groin Stretches:

sex and exercise
Flexibility is an often overlooked aspect of sex for men. Most people believe that the woman is the only one that needs to be flexible.
What happens when you have been having sex with the same person for years on end? Things start to become stale. You’re going to start wanting to try different things in the bedroom. And these things may require a degree of flexibility from you. Flexibility isn’t only going to help you in the future. It’s going to help you today. As I mentioned earlier, there are many different ways to have missionary sex. Many women like having their legs spread far out as they’re in that position, but not all can maintain that position without help. How do you help her do this? By spreading your legs as well, similar to a frog, which will give her leverage to spread hers.
This is something that is possible by having a flexible groin. A great stretch for your groin is the bottom of the squat. Sit at the bottom of the squat position and use your elbows to push your knees outwards. Hold this stretch for approximately 30 seconds.

Try doing some (or all) of the above workouts to improve your sexual technique, endurance, and flexibility. Your mate will be impressed with your sexual powers and, as a side benefit, you’ll get healthier and fitter along the way.

More Tips and Sources Tomorrow, don’t be too greedy lol!

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