Vaginismus is the involuntary spasm of the muscles at the entrance to the vagina that prevents penetration and sexual intercourse. The term vaginismus has been derived from the Latin word vaginism, a condition which is characterized by the inability to include any sexual penetration such as the insertion of tampons and the penetration involved in any of the gynecological examinations. Evidently, it is the reflex action of the pubococcygeus muscles that lead to the development of this disorder. These muscles are readily conditionable to respond with intense contraction to stimuli associated with impending penetration. In some cases, women who suffer from this disorder also have sexual arousal disorder, possible a result of conditioned fears associated with earlier traumatic sexual experiences. In most cases, however, they show normal sexual arousal but are still afflicted with this disorder. It is not always possible to identify the unconditional stimuli presumed to have been involved in the acquisition of vaginismus, probably because the disorder is sometimes over-determined in the sense of having multiple causal links. This form of sexual dysfunction is extremely rare, but when it occurs, it is likely to be extremely distressing for both an affected woman and her partner.

Experience of Vaginismus

The conditioned reflex can create a vicious circle for a woman with this disorder. For instance, if a teenage female experiences pain during penetration, she may develop vaginismus because she expects pain every time penetration occurs. If she tries to engage in sexual coitus, the conditioned muscle spasm is likely to make penetration painful. This may further worsen her condition.

Types of Vaginismus

Primary Vaginismus:

This occurs when a woman has never had penetrative sexual experience of any kind. It is most commonly found to affect teenagers and women in their early twenties. Pain can be felt while attempting to insert tampons, have penetrative sex or undergo a pap smear. Most of the women affected with this disorder are not aware of their condition which may lead to a great deal of confusion.

The causes of primary vaginismus are:

• Sexual abuse
• Thinking that sex is immoral or obscene
• The fear of pain associated with penetration, particularly the first attempt or the breaking of the hymen.

Secondary Vaginismus:

This occurs when a woman who has engaged in sexual penetration previously develops this disorder. The causes for this can be a yeast infection, trauma during childbirth or psychological causes.