Posts Tagged ‘painful intercourse’

Catch the Women’s Health Revolution of the 21st Century

Monday, September 7th, 2009
Miracle Moms available September 15, 2009 (Med-Art Press)

Miracle Moms available September 15, 2009 (Med-Art Press)

Gainesville, FL (PRWEB) September 2, 2009 — Adhesions are a leading cause of female infertility, pain, and sexual dysfunction. Many women have avoided surgery for these conditions by using a ‘hands-on’ physical therapy, with proven scientific results.

 

In the upcoming book ‘Miracle Moms, Better Sex, Less Pain,’ research gynecologist Richard King, MD joins Belinda and Larry Wurn to share a 20-year medical journey examining a physical therapy treatment to help patients achieve goals of pregnancy, better sex, and a pain-free life. Born from Belinda’s debilitating adhesion pain after cancer surgery, ‘Miracle Moms’ is a pioneering work.

 

Endorsed by Christiane Northrup, MD, ‘New York Times’ best-selling author (who wrote the Foreword) and physicians from Harvard, Columbia, Northwestern, and other fine medical schools, this book promises to usher in a women’s health revolution for the 21st century.

 

“A heartfelt thank you for providing women all over the world with such a safe, natural, and effective therapy to enhance fertility and pelvic health. Your work is a Godsend,” says Dr. Northrup.

 

With over 700 pages, ‘Miracle Moms’ is an elegant combination of more than 80 heart-felt patient narratives, and 20 years of theory, development, treatment, and published scientific research. More than 100 original illustrations provide a visual journey into the body and help explain how adhesions cause problems for so many patients and doctors, and why the unique manual therapy (Wurn Technique) was successful for so many women who were diagnosed “beyond help” by their physicians – until this therapy fulfilled their dreams.

 

The authors have published studies in some of the most respected peer-reviewed medical journals in the US. Studies in ‘Medscape General Medicine’ (2004) and ‘Fertility and Sterility’ (2006) showed that the therapy improved female fertility and decreased or eliminated endometriosis pain and intercourse pain in most participants. A major study in ‘Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine’ (2008) showed that the therapy opened totally blocked fallopian tubes in women who had been diagnosed infertile – a feat previously thought impossible. Most had natural pregnancies after their tube(s) opened. The therapy also provides hope for people with post-surgical pain and life-threatening bowel obstructions – common occurrences after surgery.

‘Miracle Moms, Better Sex, Less Pain’ will be published September 15, 2009 and available in bookstores for $29.95. www.miraclemoms.net 

 

‘Miracle Moms, Better Sex, Less Pain: A Remarkable Journey in Hands-on Healing for Infertility, Pain,
Sexual Dysfunction, and Adhesions’ by Belinda Wurn PT, Larry Wurn, LMT with Richard King, MD.
Original edition. 6 x 9” with 704 pages, 110 illustrations.  ISBN 9811868.  $29.95.

You Don’t Have to Cope with Painful Intercourse While Trying to Conceive

Thursday, February 19th, 2009

By Jackie

Many women who experience intercourse pain believe the pain is something they just have to live with or tolerate. They manage the pain by having sex sparingly or avoiding sex at times when it might be particularly painful (such as during ovulation or the week before).

However, if a woman is trying to conceive, she cannot avoid sex or only have sex when it feels best for her. Emily, a former CPT patient, struggled with just this problem. When she and her husband married, she was disappointed to find that sex was extremely painful. She told us that the pain “was almost unbearable.” Emily and her husband seldom had sex due to the pain, but when they decided to have children, she had to endure the pain. Emily told us, “We tried to have sex more often, and the stress of trying to push past the pain was making my menstrual cycles irregular.”

Adhesions at the cervix can cause painful intercourse and infertility

Adhesions at the cervix can cause painful intercourse and infertility

Painful intercourse is not normal. In fact, pain with intercourse is a clue that there might be something else wrong. CPT has treated many women who experienced infertility and a large majority of them experienced painful intercourse as well. We feel that painful intercourse is a sign that adhesions have formed in the reproductive tract, possibly adhering, restricting, and preventing proper function and fertility.

When Emily came to us for help, CPT therapists delicately and sensitively treated adhesions in her reproductive tract. Emily stated, “I felt very comfortable at CPT and in control of the treatment. At times, it was uncomfortable because they were treating a very pain-sensitive area, but I could tell the difference as the pain decreased with each session.”

Emily and her husband were eventually able to resume regular intercourse. Emily reported, “Before treatment my husband had never been able to enter me fully, and finally he was able to!” Emily’s menstrual cycle also returned to a regular cycle and she is currently expecting.

Emily’s full story, along with stories by over 75 patients, will be featured in our upcoming book, Miracle Moms, Better Sex, Less Pain. To read more about the connection between painful intercourse and fertility, read our blog post: Infertility and Sexual Dysfunction are Linked – And It’s Not All in Your Head
Please visit our website to learn more about our treatment for painful intercourse and female infertility.

Is Your Sexual Function Normal?

Thursday, February 5th, 2009

By Jackie

Many comedic movies like to poke fun at the relationship between men and women in the bedroom. While these portrayals are sometimes humorous, they fail in one regard: showing a real woman. In comedic movies, women are either portrayed as the sex kitten who will bring out the whip at any given moment or the completely bored lover who has to use “fake orgasms” or the excuse of headaches.

What is normal female sexual function? Occasionally having a “headache” or trying to spice things up certainly isn’t abnormal, but for most women, these two extremes don’t represent their sexual relationships.

To help define “normal” female sexual function, doctors designed the Female Sexual Function Index. It breaks-up female sexual function into six quantifiable categories:

  • Desire
  • Arousal
  • Lubrication
  • Satisfaction
  • Orgasm
  • Pain

Doctors have designed a questionnaire to help a woman determine her overall sexual function score. To take the test and see your score, visit the FSFI website.

If a woman scores low on the test, it does not mean there is something “wrong” with her. It may be that a woman isn’t lubricating enough, making sex painful. Or a woman may not be receiving enough foreplay, leading to decreased arousal, lubrication, orgasm, and overall satisfaction. Another possibility is that a woman is experiencing a particularly painful emotional time, thus decreasing her levels of arousal and desire.

But what if you scored low and you feel your sexual function has been low for years? What if you and your husband have tried to increase your sexual experience in multiple ways, but it just isn’t working? What if no matter what you do, you still experience pain with sex?

If any of these questions sound like you, adhesions may be contributing to your sexual dysfunction and pain. Adhesions form after any injury to the body – including vaginal infections, bladder infections, rough sex, etc. The minute an infection occurs, tiny strands of collagen rush to the site. They not only seal off the area from the rest of the body, but also help it heal. Although helpful, these strands of collagen can blanket the sensitive walls of the vagina. When the nerves of the vagina are blanketed, desire, lubrication, satisfaction, and orgasm can be decreased.

In addition to blanketing the vagina, collagen can continue to build and form adhesions. Adhesions can constrict the vagina, pull on the cervix, or pull on nearby structures. Whenever a woman attempts sex, pain is generated as the adhesions are stretched.

To learn more about a safe, non-invasive treatment for sexual function and intercourse pain, please visit our painful intercourse page and sexual dysfunction page.

Infertility and Sexual Dysfunction are Linked – And It’s Not All in Your Head

Friday, January 23rd, 2009

By Jackie

Maintaining a sexually satisfying relationship can be difficult for couples struggling with infertility.  Judith C. Daniluk, author of an article entitled, “Keeping Your Sex Life Alive While Coping with Infertility” explains that, “Infertility affects a person’s feelings about themselves – their masculinity or femininity, their self worth, their self esteem, their body.”

Many women experience a deterioration of sexual satisfaction during infertility treatments, often related to feelings of disappointment, guilt, or low self esteem. These feelings can decrease a woman’s sexual desire, arousal, ability to lubricate, and overall satisfaction.

A study published by Fertility and Sterility (October 2007) found that women experience greater levels of anxiety and sexual stress due to infertility than men. For some women, infertility treatments directly decrease desire and arousal because of altered hormonal levels.

Although these articles and studies show that decreased sexual satisfaction can be related to emotional and mental health, it is imperative that women know sexual dysfunction or painful intercourse is not always, “all in your head.”

At CPT, we often find that female infertility and sexual dysfunction are physically linked. Frequently, a woman will experience a common event such as a car accident, vaginal infection, STD, sexual abuse, or surgery that causes adhesions to form within the reproductive tract. These adhesions can lead to infertility by restricting or pulling the fallopian tubes, ovaries, uterus, and vagina. Although some women may not initially experience any pain or sexual dysfunction at the time, the continued pulling and restriction can cause more adhesions to form, eventually resulting in painful intercourse and sexual dysfunction six to twelve months later. Because of the delayed onset, women often do not see the connection between their infertility and sexual dysfunction.

CPT therapists see sexual dysfunction as a clue to discover the cause of a woman’s infertility. We often ask patients, “When did your sexual dysfunction begin? How often does it occur? Are you experiencing trouble with arousal, desire, satisfaction, orgasm, pain, or lubrication? In what sexual positions does sex hurt? Where exactly does it hurt and what does it feel like?”

The answers to these questions shape our individualized treatment for each woman. Many women find that when we resolve the cause of their infertility, we also resolve the cause of their sexual dysfunction and pain.

To learn more about our treatment, please visit our sexual dysfunction page, painful intercourse page, or female infertility page.

Decreased Sensation During Intercourse

Tuesday, January 6th, 2009

By Kandy

Sexual intimacy and intercourse should provide some of life’s greatest pleasures. But because the female urogenital and reproductive organs are very susceptible to adhesions, intercourse can become painful, dissatisfying, and embarrassing. Many women still believe the old misconception that “there isn’t anything that can be done,” or “it’s just the way it is,” or “my mother didn’t enjoy sexual intimacy and neither did hers, therefore I won’t be able to either.”

If you are not satisfied with sexual intercourse, you are not alone. Did you know that approximately 50% of all US women and 43% of women aged 18-59 experience female sexual dysfunction (FSD) according to data from Urology and the Journal of the American Medical Association? In 2000. the Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy classified female sexual dysfunction into six measurable domains: desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain. Intercourse pain affects between 46% and 60% of all US women, according to reports in American Family Physician (2001) and Obstetrics & Gynecology (1996). Have you ever been informed that female sexual dysfunction can occur during any stage of intercourse?

Although sexual dysfunction and intercourse pain are prevalent among women, these conditions should not be considered “normal” or “untreatable.” An informative article found in Science Daily (November 16, 2006) discusses a recent study about a possible cause of sexual dysfunction in women. The study, completed by researchers of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, & Reproductive Sciences at Yale School of Medicine and The Albert Einstein College of Medicine, found that many female competitive bicyclists experienced decreased genital sensation. The researches found that external genital nerves and arteries were negatively affected by being directly compressed in women who consistently cycled an average of at least 10 miles a week, four weeks per month.

Other known causes of sexual dysfunction and intercourse pain include bladder infections, yeast infection, inflammatory disorders, sexually transmitted diseases, pelvic surgeries, physical or sexual abuse, etc.  All of these conditions can cause adhesions to form within in the reproductive tract. Adhesions can restrict and blanket the delicate structures of the reproductive system, causing decreased sensation (such as in the bicyclists) or painful intercourse.

So what can a woman do once she experiences sexual dysfunction or painful intercourse? First, she should speak with her doctor to make sure there is not a greater problem at hand, such as endometriosis or a sexually transmitted disease. If the doctor cannot find a probable cause, it is likely that adhesions are at fault.

A study published in the peer-reviewed journal Medscape General Medicine (2004) examined a sexual dysfunction treatment that directly targets adhesions within the reproductive tract. The study showed that 78% of women had increased desire (libido), 74% had increased arousal, 70% had increased lubrication, and 56% experienced increased orgasms after receiving treatment developed at Clear Passage Therapies®. For more information on this treatment, please visit our sexual dysfunction or painful intercourse page.

Three Common Causes of Deep Penetration Pain

Saturday, December 6th, 2008

By Jackie

Few women feel comfortable discussing painful intercourse, much less deep penetration pain. However, many women experience pain that lasts after initial entry. Some women report that, “It feels like my partner is hitting something.” Other women experience a broader ache in their pelvis.

So what can cause this type of pain? Below are three common culprits:

Tailbone: A fall onto the tailbone can cause it to be pushed forward or to the side. If the ligaments and tissues attached to the tailbone are also injured, the tailbone can heal in this position. Women with this condition experience painful intercourse, pain with bowel movements, and difficulty sitting for long periods.

Cervix: The cervix is held in its midline position by ligaments that attach to tall sides. If infection, inflammation, surgery, or trauma occurs in the vagina, adhesions can form and pull the cervix out of alignment. Adhesions can also tighten the cervix, causing significant pain when impacted by deep penetration.

IUD: An IUD is designed to prevent pregnancy by causing inflammation in the uterus. If the uterus is inflamed, a woman may experience pain during intercourse. Inflammation also causes adhesions to form in the uterus and cervix. Even if the IUD has been removed, a woman can still experience pain during intercourse due to these adhesions.

Our therapists, trained to reduce adhesions, have had great success treating intercourse pain. In our latest study, 96% of patients experienced a decrease in intercourse pain. To read more about our treatment for sexual dysfunction and painful intercourse, please visit our site.

Study Links Abuse to Sexual Dysfunction

Saturday, November 15th, 2008

By Jackie

A medical study published last month in Fertility and Sterility found that women who experienced emotional, physical, or sexual abuse at any time during their life had doubled odds of experiencing sexual dysfunction. That means female survivors of abuse are TWICE as likely to struggle with desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and intercourse pain. This study is extremely relevant to women because it shows that even if the abuse occurred during childhood, it can have lasting impacts on sexual function in adulthood. The psychological and emotional impacts of abuse are devastating enough – women do not deserve to live with continued pain or sexual dissatisfaction.

In some instances, women are subjected to direct force, such as being stuck or forced into sexual acts. As a result of the trauma, adhesions may form to help the body repair and heal. However, these adhesions can also restrict the vagina, cover sensitive structures designed to make sex pleasurable, or adhere the vagina to other structures, such as the bladder. Adhesions can also form at the cervix, making it immobile and painful during intercourse. Adhesions that restrict the vagina can also prevent proper lubrication. Furthermore, women who experience intercourse pain often become guarded against sex and experience trouble with desire and arousal.

In other instances, trauma from abuse may occur over time. For example, if a child experiences ongoing emotional abuse, she will always be “on guard” against a recurrent perpetrator, thus tensing her muscles and causing them to go into spasm. Over time, this spasm can also result in adhesions. Adhesions that form around the pituitary-hypothalamus feedback loop can also prevent proper hormonal function, thus decreasing desire and arousal.

Our treatment for sexual dysfunction and intercourse pain can be extremely helpful and cathartic for women who have experienced physical or sexual abuse. We treat the scars and adhesions that form within our patients as a result of the abuse. When we break-apart, detach, and deform these adhesions, women find that pain dramatically decreases and their sexual function increases.

One of our previous patients, Kelly, came to CPT after experiencing sexual abuse almost 20 years prior. She told us, “I had a feeling that the therapy would help me resolve the pain and inflexibility in the vaginal area which had resulted in sexual dysfunction.” After completing our 20 hour treatment program she reported, “The therapy worked beautifully, and I have had no pain since the treatment.”

Please visit our website if you would like to read more about our treatment for sexual dysfunction, intercourse pain, or abuse.

Sexual Dysfunction Expert, Belinda Wurn, Speaks Out Against Painful Intercourse

Thursday, October 9th, 2008

Gainesville, FL (PRWEB) October 9, 2008 — Over 70% of women surveyed in a large study in the Journal of Family Practice (JFP) reported painful intercourse. Yet despite the high prevalence, women frequently do not discuss their sexual concerns with their physicians, according to the journal.

More than half of the women in the study also reported concerns of physical or sexual abuse, and over 40% reported sexual coercion at some point in their lives. “Experiences with abuse or coercion may explain why some women are hesitant to talk about their sexual concerns,” says physical therapist Belinda Wurn, an expert in treating the physical components of sexual dysfunction and dyspareunia.

Still, many other women with no history of abuse often conclude that painful intercourse is a normal occurrence for women and do not think to complain to their physician. They simply live with the pain or become disinterested in sex.

“When sex hurts, intercourse can become a time of silent agony instead of pleasure,” Wurn says. “Many women may attempt to avoid sex altogether due to the pain.”

Wurn should know. After a pelvic surgery and radiation for cancer of the cervix left her infertile and in pain, she searched for years to regain a pain-free sexual life. Now the tables are turned and she is conducting and publishing research on the work that got her out of pain.

The pelvic therapy she uses addresses a wholly physical component; it is designed to decrease vaginal and pelvic adhesions that form after trauma, infection, inflammation, or surgery. Untreated, adhesions can remain in the body for a lifetime where they act like glue, tightening tissues and causing pain.

Wurn’s findings have been published in several peer-reviewed medical journals, but “research is only one step in the right direction in helping women resolve their painful intercourse,” she says. “Healthcare professionals need to be stronger advocates and initiate conversations about sexual health with their patients. Sex should not hurt and women don’t have to live with it.”

”Women might want to keep a journal to assess their pain,” Wurn suggests. ”They should note when the pain first started, how often it occurs, if it occurs at certain times during the monthly cycle or in certain coital positions, and if the pain occurs at the entrance or deeper within the vagina. Women should feel encouraged to discuss their journal with their gynecologist. If their doctor doesn’t listen, they should find another who will.”

Wurn and her husband are currently co-authoring a new book, Miracle Moms, Better Sex, Less Pain, to help bring these issues to the forefront of medical care.

Researchers Find Unexpected Results During Infertility Investigation- Better Sex and Orgasms

Tuesday, June 6th, 2006

Gainesville, FL, June 6, 2006/PRNewswire/ – Researchers investigating a treatment for female infertility were surprised when participants reported unusual side effects – increased orgasms and sexual desire.

“The improved sexual function occurred in women who reported low libido, painful intercourse, and other sexual issues before therapy,” said gynecologist Richard King. “We were pleased to find that in addition to helping women conceive, this therapy has a beneficial side effect.”

King and his research team were investigating a pelvic physical therapy treatment for female infertility, the Wurn Technique®. Then patients began reporting increased desire, decreased pain with intercourse, and “orgasms like I’ve never had in my life” to the research team weeks and months after therapy.

“After years of experiencing an almost complete lack of interest in sex, I now have desires and responses unlike anything I’ve experienced in my lifetime,” reported one forty year-old woman to a member of the research team. “My husband and I feel like newlyweds.”

Based on the unexpected findings, the researchers conducted a study on the ability of therapy to improve female sexual function. Results of the study [“Medscape General Medicine” - 12/04] showed 78% of women experienced increased desire (libido), 56% reported increased orgasms, and 96% reported decreased pain with intercourse.

“Before therapy, I wasn’t interested in sex, and I had difficulty experiencing orgasms. I had come to believe that this was the way things were supposed to be. After therapy, I began to have deep, intense orgasms during intercourse,” said another study participant to Mandy Roscow, MPT, one of the therapists.

In the initial study the hands-on physical therapy technique, which breaks down pelvic adhesions, was shown to improve in vitro fertilization (IVF) success rates, and natural pregnancy rates in infertile women. The study was published in the peer-reviewed journal Medscape General Medicine (6/04).

Note to editors: Dr. King, research participants, therapists available for interviews. Media contact is Larry Wurn, 352-336-1433 or cptherapy(at)aol.com.

The right touch may improve intimacy

Wednesday, April 26th, 2006

Over a third of US women surveyed suffer from painful intercourse, yet remarkably, most never tell their doctors. Two studies published in Obstetrics and Gynecology report that between 33% and 46% of women surveyed have persistent pain with intercourse. Suffering in silence, most of these women also reported decreased sexual activity or other adverse effects on their relationships, due to physical pain during intimacy.

Women with dyspareunia (painful intercourse) may also experience pain in the lower back, hip, buttocks and groin. Some are unable to sit for long periods of time, have frequent bladder infections, or suffer from digestive or bowel problems. Many report a decreased desire to engage in sexual activity, inability to have an orgasm, and problems trying to conceive.

Men often feel powerless in helping their partner deal with these difficult issues. Unable to help relieve the pain, many men become confused, depressed and deeply frustrated that their touch causes their partner pain.

Some women complain that traditional dyspareunia treatments — medication, lubricants or psychological counseling — address symptoms, but not the cause of the pain. However, a recently published study indicates that a more permanent answer may be as simple as “the right touch.”

Seventeen years ago, massage therapist Larry Wurn was frustrated trying to find a cure for his wife’s pelvic pain. Belinda Wurn had to resign as Associate Professor of Physical Therapy at the University of Florida due to the pain she experienced after pelvic surgery. That’s when the couple began to develop a non-invasive hands-on therapy to treat Belinda’s pelvic pain. The therapy, a slow and deep bodywork focused on the areas of pain, has evolved over the years into a treatment for intercourse pain and related disorders.

The Wurn Technique® (patent pending) is a manual physical therapy without the drugs often associated with medical techniques. In a recently published peer reviewed study, it relieved or eliminated intercourse pain in 96% of the women treated, and showed statistically significant improvements in all six major areas of sexual function: (desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain). Of the 23 women who received the therapy, 78% reported increased desire and 56% reported increased orgasms on their post treatment study surveys.

According to the Wurns, most patients begin to notice pain relief within the first few hours of therapy. By the end of the one-week program (available at Clear Passage Therapies® clinics) pain significantly decreased or was eliminated in all but one study patient.

In addition to decreasing intercourse pain and improving orgasms, peer reviewed published studies show increased pregnancies in women diagnosed infertile, after this therapy.

About Clear Passage:

Clear Passage Therapies® has clinics in California, Florida, and Iowa. Most patients fly in for the one-week course of therapy. Information is available at http://www.clearpassage.com/ or toll free at 1-866-222-9437.

Belinda Wurn, PT graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. in physical therapy from the University of Florida in 1975. She and her husband, massage therapist Larry Wurn, owned a network of chronic pain clinics as they developed their work treating pelvic pain and female infertility. Belinda is considered an expert in causes and treatments of various types of sexual dysfunction including decreased orgasm, desire, arousal, lubrication and satisfaction and painful intercourse. She has co-authored studies about improving natural and IVF (in vitro fertilization) pregnancy rates in women diagnosed infertile.

Larry Wurn, LMT studied manual therapy with several recognized experts in manual therapy to help treat Belinda for pain and dysfunction following surgery and pelvic radiation. Prior to their development, Belinda had been unable to find relief with traditional medical care. As Larry progressed in his education, he and Belinda developed new techniques to help relieve pain and improve reproductive function, including fertility.

Research studies: Belinda and Larry were joined by scientists and research physicians who became fascinated with the results they saw with this new therapy. To date, the group has published three studies in WebMD’s internationally recognized peer-reviewed journal, Medscape General Medicine. These studies were distributed to 2.5 million physician subscribers in 249 countries and were recently accepted into the US Library of Medicine.