Vaginal Pain or Discomfort

Sometimes our emotions get expressed as physical sensations. For example, stress can cause some people to get tension headaches. In a similar way, stress and tension, especially if they are related to issues with a sexual partner, can cause painful sexual intercourse (dyspareunia). This can also happen for women who have experienced sexual trauma in the past.

Have you had a traumatic sexual experience or significant stress that makes you very tense during sexual intercourse? Yes. No.

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Online Medical Reviewer: LeWine, Howard MD Date Last Reviewed: 5/4/2006 Date Last Modified: 3/30/2006 Source: from Harvard Health Decision Guides, Harvard Health Publications, Copyright © 2007 by President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved. Used with permission of StayWell.

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