Pelvic pain is silent epidemic and growing area of concern for health care providers, as well as women with disorders that involve the pelvic area (vulva, bladder, pelvic floor muscle, rectum and uterus.) Vaginismus and Vulvodynia are only two of these frustrating pelvic disorders seen in women, and currently, they are not well understood.
Research on these conditions, often linked under the umbrella of “chronic pain syndromes,” is scarce, especially as it relates to successful treatments. After several months or even years of seeing different specialist, women still go undiagnosed, or they are told the pain is “all in their head.” Therefore, women often become depressed, and marriages become difficult due to the lack of sexual intercourse.
Women with chronic pelvic pain or Vulvodynia tend to visit specialists who provide treatments for urinary incontinence and other pelvic disorders because they seem appropriate, or they visit their gynecologist who diagnoses them incorrectly with endometriosis.
Those who do receive the correct diagnosis of Vulvodynia are often put on harmful anti-depressant medications, or a Vestibulectomy is recommended. This procedure removes the tender areas of the skin within the vestibule (the area between the lower vagina and just within the vulva), but the operation has a low success rate at reducing pain, and can create even more pain issues than before surgery.
This article will provide an overview of common pelvic pain conditions and explain a new, non-surgical and holistic pain-relieving option that is now available.
Vulvodynia
Vulvodynia affects the vulva, the external female genital organs. This includes the labia, clitoris and vaginal opening. There are two main subtypes of vulvodynia:
Generalized vulvodynia indicates pain in different areas of the vulva at different times. Vulvar pain may be constant or occasional. Touch or pressure may or may not prompt it. However, this could make the pain worse.
Vulvar vestibulitis syndrome indicates pain in the vestibule, the entrance to the vagina. Often a burning sensation, this type of vulvar pain occurs only after touch or pressure, such as during intercourse.
Vaginismus
When a woman suffers from vaginismus, the muscle walls of her vagina contracts or spasms in response to attempted insertion―for example, with a tampon or penis. This involuntary muscle contraction can be mildly uncomfortable, or it may cause searing and tearing pain. Vaginismus can interfere with normal activities like sex or having a pelvic exam at the doctor’s office.
Dyspareunia
Dyspareunia is painful sexual intercourse due to medical or psychological causes. The pain can primarily be on the external surface of the genitalia or deeper in the pelvis upon applied pressure against the cervix. This condition can affect a small portion of the vulva or vagina, or can be felt across its entire surface.
Pelvic Radiation Therapy
After radiation treatment to the pelvic area, scar tissue begins to form in the vagina, causing the tissue to dry out and lose elasticity. Shrinking of the vagina and vaginal opening might occur. Scarring of the vaginal tissue result in adhesions or areas where scar tissue forms, sealing the sides of the vaginal together. This can make it difficult for a doctor to perform vaginal exams. In addition, sexual intercourse will become more difficult and uncomfortable.
Menopause
During or after menopause, vaginal dryness and thinning or weakening vaginal walls can cause pain and stinging during penetration, especially if the woman is not having regular sex.
Vaginal Stenosis
Vaginal stenosis is often a side-effect of radiotherapy or genital surgery. This condition indicates a narrowing or loss of vaginal flexibility, often accompanied by other changes such as the scar tissue dryness and loss of resilience.
Vaginal Atrophy
Vaginal atrophy, also called atrophic vaginitis, indicates the thinning, drying and inflammation of vaginal walls due to estrogen loss. Vaginal atrophy occurs most often after menopause, but it can also develop during breast-feeding or at any other time the body’s estrogen production declines. For many women, vaginal atrophy makes intercourse painful—if intercourse hurts, interest in sex will naturally decrease.
As the creator of VuVa Magnetic Dilators, I was diagnosed with Vulvodynia over five years ago. I did not want to take any anti-depressants or have painful surgery. Instead, I decided to take an existing magnetic treatment for nerve pain caused by fibromyalgia and combine it with vaginal dilator therapy to see if it would relieve nerve pain, and it did.
Neodymium magnets have been used for centuries for chronic pain. VuVa has incorporated them into a vaginal dilator set. The “North Pole” of a Neodymium magnet is often referred to by medical researchers as a magnet’s “healing side.” The patent-pending VuVa Vaginal Dilator set contains over sixty strategically positioned Neodymium magnets that allow this field of soothing energy to flow into the body.
When a powerful negative magnetic field is placed over a nerve, positively-charged ions will be attracted to the negative magnetic field, impeding the ion’s flow along nerves to the brain. This causes soft tissue to lengthen, relaxing muscles and ligaments. As the tissue relaxes, Neodymium magnets increase blood-flow to the painful area, thereby calming nerves. VuVa Dilators are the only dilators available with Neodymium Magnets.
Throughout my work, I have found that women are happy to discover this non-surgical option to relieve their pain. The emails and calls I receive on a daily basis are overwhelming. Women from all over the United States tell me that VuVa gave them their lives back and, in some cases, even saved their marriages.
Are you wondering how to use VuVa Vaginal Dilators? The process is simple, only requiring a few 20-30 minute sessions per day with a water-based lubricant. Through our research, we have found that using your VuVa Dilator immediately before sexual intercourse can decreases the pain significantly
VuVa Dilators are manufactured right here in Sarasota, and human clinical trials are currently underway. We are also pleased to announce that the VuVa device has been approved for use in a research study being conducted in Sarasota.
To learn more about this study and patient eligibility, visit PCCRSarasota.com. For more information about VuVa, call 941-343-8303 or visit VuVaTech.com.
http://www.nasrq.com/SARA/November-2015/VuVa-Magnetic-Dilators-a-Pelvic-Pain-Breakthrough/