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03 443 7271 | 25a Russell street,
Wanaka

The silent epidemic

Commonly women experience changes in their sexual wellbeing during stages of life. Some women have weak orgasm or have never had an orgasm. Vaginal dryness can cause problems or pain with intercourse, as can scarring from childbirth, trauma or surgery.There is a wide range of treatment options that can improve the creation of new pathways to pleasure.

Our therapists understand that sexual concerns can be challenging to discuss. Past experiences and trauma can affect sexual wellbeing, and we work closely with psychiatrists and counsellors if required to help support you through treatment.

 

Your privacy and dignity will be fully respected during your appointments and support offered to reassure you and ease anxieties. If you have pain with sex or the use of tampons, you should seek help from your Pelvic Floor Physiotherapist, especially if you are pregnant and experiencing these symptoms.

Conditions we treat

Many women describe that their vagina feels numb, or somehow different after the birth of a child. Orgasms maybe not as strong, have to work harder for pleasure, or difficulty surrendering to the sensation of pleasure.  The busy mind can sabotage our ability to feel pleasure, or past traumas or experiences can affect the way you feel. There may also be a lack of knowledge on how to expand sexual pleasure sensations from you and your partner.

We have many techniques to improve the vaginal sensation, and also restore the vaginal tissues to optimal health.

Vaginal dryness can lead to painful sex or the need to slap on a generous portion of lube.  Sometimes this can be caused by hormonal changes like in menopause, childbirth, pregnancy, some medications, but also how you think and feel about sex and your relationship.

 

 

Painful sexual intercourse or intimacy

Many women have pain around or in the vagina or pelvis with intercourse (dyspareunia) or sexual intimacy. Pain can occur at the entrance to the vagina or on deep penetration, and can be commonly caused by overactivity of the pelvic floor muscles meaning the muscles have trouble relaxing. This can create muscle tension and spasm which can lead to pain.

Other causes of sexual pain can be hormonal changes associated with menopause or breastfeeding, how you think and feel, relationship problems, vulval skin conditions, perineal scarring from childbirth or trauma, and some medications, which can reduce sexual desire and cause vaginal dryness.

Vaginismus is a vaginal tightness that causes discomfort, burning, pain with intercourse or tampon use, penetration problems and sometimes almost complete closure of the vaginal opening, making intercourse impossible, despite the desire to do so.

We take a holistic approach when treating pain and our strategies are comprehensive, proven and effective. From lifestyle management and soft tissue release and massage, breathing and postural changes to technology; it’s our goal to use our knowledge of how the body works, combined with functional movement, to help you achieve your goals. We use advanced technologies like stims machines and biofeedback, as well as ancient techniques such as acupuncture and manual, hands-on therapy. We also collaborate with other trusted health professionals and specialists as needed. We have found that we can find the cause of pain and treat it effectively and successfully, even after our clients have visited many other health professionals and specialists. Why? Because we take a whole-body approach and through our comprehensive external and internal assessments, can often find the root of the problem, and therefore have effective treatment.

Your treatment is not a one-way street; it’s a group effort. By really listening to you, with compassion and understanding, we can wade through the emotional and physical pain you might be carrying and help you move towards a lighter, healthier, freer you.

 

Some women have never had an orgasm (lifelong anorgasmia) or used to be able to but now can now (acquired anorgasmia).  Sometimes the intensity of orgasm has altered after a specific event such as childbirth or surgery.  We can help educate on ways to help create pathways to orgasm, techniques, and also optimisation of the pelvic floor, posture, breathing and movement can all help.

Vaginismus is a vaginal tightness that causes discomfort, burning, pain with intercourse or tampon use, penetration problems and sometimes almost complete closure of the vaginal opening, making intercourse impossible, despite the desire to do so.

We work with finding the underlying driver to why this is happening.  We can advise on how to use vaginal dilators, and also work closely with the specialist doctors before and after procedures such as vaginal botox, to optimise the outcome.  We use technology such as biofeedback and stims machines to help train the muscles on how to relax, desensitise the tissues to allow penetration.

Think you’re the only one leaking during sex? Think again. 18% of sexually active women have experienced leaking with sex – with 62.9% experiencing it during penetration and 31.7% experienced it with orgasm.

There is so much SHAME around leaking with sex , and thoughts can really interfere with a good time. To orgasm, one needs to be able to surrender and let go – not easy when you are worrying about kids lunches, the work meeting the next day, a snarky co-worker or a messy living room. Worrying about leaking is the last thing you need when getting jiggy with it.

Our services related to sexual dysfunction

Menopausal pelvic assessment

Menopause is the change of life where a woman no longer menstruates and their period stops permanently.

After menopause our sex hormones, oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone, slowly decline to a very low level. These hormones are responsible for maintaining tissue elasticity including vaginal tissue and they cause our lining of the uterus to thicken during the menstrual cycle. These hormones also preserve bone and muscle mass, they maintain vaginal blood flow and lubrication and they contribute to libido.

Some of the common symptoms associated with menopause include hot flushes, night sweats, insomnia, vaginal dryness, bone loss, fatigue, heavy or irregular bleeding, incontinence (bladder and/or bowel), urinary urgency (the need to rush to the toilet to urinate) and urinary frequency

During menopause there are changes in the collagen and elastin within the body’s tissue, in particular it affects the structural and functional integrity of the pelvic floor. The result of thinner connective tissue is stretching and weakening of the fascia and muscles that support the pelvic organs as well as the sphincters that help with bladder and bowel control. This can potentially increase risk of pelvic organ prolapse and bladder and urinary incontinence.

Menopause also affects the vaginal walls and vulva, as less lubrication is produced and vaginal walls are thinner and weaker. It is common for some women to experience sexual pain or discomfort during intercourse after menopause.

Menopause and Libido

During menopause there is a gradual loss of oestrogen and during this time there is also a loss of testosterone, which is the female sex hormone responsible for sexual arousal and desire. Your libido is your sexual instinct and erotic desire. Every woman’s libido is different and it is dependent on a number factors including; hot flushes, vaginal dryness, anti-depressants and stress and anxiety levels.

Menopausal women may find it much harder to respond to touch and sexual contact and find it much harder to become aroused due to the effect of low oestrogen, there is less blood flow to the vagina as well as less lubrication, which makes sexual intercourse less desirable.

How we can help menopausal women:

  • Improve sexual desire and intimacy
  • How to reduce the effect of bone changes after menopause
  • How to keep the pelvic floor strong and healthy beyond menopause
  • Pelvic floor safe exercises in menopause

 

Pelvic floor muscle strengthening

Getting these muscles optimised to their full potential is what we are best at! This is our jam! No flimpsy pamphlet and generic instruction given… we assess you fully, and get your started on how to get these wonderful muscles, power house strong, and able to respond to what you will throw at it. Your program will be individualised to EXACTLY what you need. We don’t want your pelvic floor muscles to be your weakest link! Sometimes that might involve pelvic floor muscles relaxation (link through to this service from the pain section) first, before we can work on the strength, power, co-ordination and endurance of these muscles. They have to be fast enough to catch those coughs and sneezes, and have enough endurance to last a full day on your feet! They have to have enough tone to support your pelvic organs, and be able to fully relax to wee, poo and have sex! They need to be able to respond to impact during a lift or a jump…. And if you follow our recommendations… who knows…. Maybe you just might be able to shoot that ping pong ball across the room!

We will even help you with tips and trick on how to fit these exercises into your day, so that you can keep up the great work life long.

Ingredients to create new pathways to pleasure

Creating new pathways to pleasure is possible.  Sex is one of the most asked questions we hear in the clinic. Everybody wants to know, but no one is talking about it! We get asked about everything; from pre and post-natal sex, to painful sex, to how to have the very best sex for YOU. Sex with yourself, sex with a partner of 1 week or 50 years.  Connected, toe-curling, intimate, joyful and roof lifting sex is not a distant spectre on the horizon. It should be yours to have and to hold, and we will exploring HOW.

We talk about sex a lot. Painful sex, lack of libido, problems with pleasure and intimacy, are all enormous issues. People are very relieved to talk about it and have often never been asked about it before, but it’s such a big part of their life. It can affect their relationships and their identities. Whatever the stage of a woman’s life, we want to support them back to having pain free and pleasurable sex. For a lot of women, it’s another area of tolerance; of putting up with it and getting it over and done with as quickly as possible.

So what do we treat? We see people who leak urine during orgasm and also during penetration, as well as those who are working through Gentito-Pelvic Pain, Penetration Disorder, Female Sexual Arousal Interest / Arousal disorder and Female Orgasmic disorder.  There is hope for EVERYONE. Seize the day by the short and curlies, and come and see us.

Thoughts can really interfere with a good time. To orgasm, one needs to be able to surrender and let go – not easy when you are worrying about kids lunches, the work meeting the next day, a snarky co-worker or a messy living room. We can help with strategies for the busy mind.

Do you know the anatomy of your clitoris? We teach all about this special treasure of pleasure in our clinic. We believe it’s healthy, normal and should be encouraged to learn about your body through self play.

Coitus. Fornicate. Make love. Getting laid. Hooking up. Get busy. Hitting a home run. Shag. Root. Ravish. Putting the P into the V. Bang. Bone. Ride. Nail. Screw. Hotline bling. Whatever you call it, it should be fun, intimate and consensual.

Book an appointment

Take the first step and book your appointment 60 minute appointment, which is always 1:1, and involves a treatment tailored to you exact needs.

Would you prefer to chat over the phone?

Wondering if we can help? Give our trained staff a call!
We can answer your detailed questions, and if we're not a great fit for you, we can provide resources and recommendations for treatment options.

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