Burning Sensation During Intercourse: What Is It, and What Can Be Done?

Having a burning sensation during intercourse is very common. Unfortunately, many women are told that this is something that they have to endure, or they aren’t given true strategies to help resolve it.

A burning sensation during intercourse can happen due to a number of reasons.

The first reason you may be struggling with a burning sensation during intercourse is due to vaginal dryness. Vaginal dryness can be the result of low estrogen levels.

Low estrogen is common in patients that are postpartum, or entering peri-menopause, when estrogen levels drop. Often, talking to your gynecologist about possibly starting a trial of vaginal estrogen cream can help resolve this long term.

A short term solution could be to use a personal lubricant, and/or a personal moisturizer. A personal lubricant can be water based, silicone based, or oil based. Avoid anything with fragrance, that tingles, warms, or does anything with lubricant. You also want to avoid anything that has glycerin. Sticking to a pure lubricant can make sure that you don’t have any reaction which can make the burning during intercourse worse.

A personal moisturizer is a longer term solution. Moisturizers include vulvar balms which can help keep the vaginal tissue from drying out. Like personal lubricants, you want to make sure that the moisturizer you choose is as pure as possible,

Another reason you may be struggling with a burning sensation during intercourse could be due to pelvic floor muscle tightness. When the pelvic floor muscles are tight, they sometimes create a burning sensation.

During intercourse, the pelvic floor muscles are stimulated and when they are tight, this creates discomfort. If you have ever had a massage to tight muscles in your neck, you would understand how touching tight muscles can be tender.

Another reason that you might have a burning sensation during intercourse can be due to an active infection. Be sure that you have ruled out a yeast infection or urinary track infection.

So what are the solutions to a burning sensation during intercourse?

First, if you aren’t already, please make sure that you are using lubricant. Also, make sure that you are engaging in some sort of foreplay. Foreplay helps to loosen up the pelvic floor muscles, to prepare for penetration.

If you’ve tried lubricant and foreplay and still are having a burning sensation during intercourse, you should consider pelvic floor physical therapy. Pelvic floor physical therapy works to relax the pelvic floor muscles through hands on treatments, exercises, and lifestyle modifications.

If you are looking to get started with pelvic floor physical therapy, call us! We would be happy to see you if you are local to us, or refer you to someone local to you.

Vivid Women’s Health is a boutique women’s health physical therapy practice with locations in Newtown, PA and Doylestown, PA . We provide unmatched pelvic floor physical therapy to help women resolve pelvic floor symptoms. 

If you are local to the Newtown or Doylestown, Bucks County, PA area, please click here to find out more about our in person services. If you are visiting our site from afar, we offer virtual services to help you overcome your pelvic health concerns. For virtual services, please click here.