Do you have pain when wearing tampons? 

You are not alone! Many people struggle with this. So, what may be causing pain while wearing tampons? 

The pain you’re experiencing is likely due to the tightness in your pelvic floor muscles. When the muscles down there are holding too much tension all the time, it can cause a plethora of symptoms including pain or discomfort with tampon use. 

Not to worry, pelvic floor physical therapy often helps with this problem, eliminating the pain discomfort, burning, stinging, etc. If this is happening to you, keep reading to learn more about tightness in pelvic floor muscles and how it relates to pain when inserting or using tampons.

Why are my pelvic floor muscles tight? 

There are many reasons that someone’s pelvic floor might be tight. It can have to do with tightness of surrounding structures such as the hips and low back. It can also have to do with history of trauma, whether that is sexual abuse, miscarriage, etc. 

Sometimes people carry their stress and emotions in their pelvic floor, similarly how some people tense up their shoulders or clench their jaws. In some cases, we really just do not know what causes pain from pelvic floor muscle tightness.

To learn more, read our article on the symptoms of a tight pelvic floor!

What The Pelvic Floor Has To Do With Tampons

When you insert a tampon, it goes up into the vaginal canal. The pelvic floor muscles surround the vaginal canal and can compress it if they are too tight. If the tight muscles are pressed up against a tampon, that causes discomfort and even pain. 

How Pelvic Floor Therapy Can Fix Pain From Tampons

Pelvic floor physical therapy is a highly effective option for people with pelvic floor tightness. To address tight pelvic floor muscles, a physical therapist will use a combination of stretches, internal work, and tools for self-maintenance. 

Other Causes of Tampon Pain 

In addition to tight pelvic muscles, there may be other possible causes of pain from tampons.

• Dryness - it may be painful to insert or remove tampons because of dryness of the vagina 

• Cysts - it’s possible that you’re experiencing tampon pain from a vaginal cyst. Though they can go away on their own, they may also grow in size and cause pain, in which case, medical treatment may be needed.

• Vaginitis - a general term to describe inflammation of the vagina.

• Vulvodynia - this disorder is more of a stinging pain that affects the vulva. Pelvic floor physical therapy can help solve this as well.

Getting Started With Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy

You can be pain-free again with tampon use! It may take some work in pelvic floor physical therapy, but you can certainly get there! 

In addition to discomfort or pain with tampon use, pelvic floor tightness may also manifest as pain or discomfort with intimacy, tailbone pain, urgency or frequency of urination, abdominal pain, or low back pain. If you need help with any of these issues, pelvic floor physical therapy may be the answer you are looking for! 

Reach out and speak with one of our Maryland pelvic floor physical therapists today and solve your pelvic floor dysfunction for good!

Alpha Project Phyzio has three locations in Maryland - Gaithersburg, Columbia, and Frederick.