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7 Common Reasons Sex Hurts (And What You Can Do About It)

From hormonal changes and insufficient arousal to endometriosis and pelvic floor conditions, most causes of painful sex can be treated.

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There are lots of people out there suffering through painful sex and telling absolutely nobody about it.

Dyspareunia—the clinical term for pain during sex—affects up to 20% of women, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians, with men experiencing it far less frequently. The causes range from mechanical to hormonal to neurological, and most are treatable. The main obstacle is that people either assume the pain is normal or feel too embarrassed to bring it up with a doctor. Neither instinct is going to help. Here’s what’s actually going on.

1. Insufficient Arousal

Under-arousal is probably the most common cause of painful sex and the least likely to get named as such. The body needs time to prepare—lubrication, increased blood flow, tissue elasticity—and when that process gets cut short, penetration creates friction against tissue that hasn’t done its job yet. Slowing down and communicating what works fixes most of this. Pushing through does........

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