DYSPAREUNIA: A Special Type of Chronic Pelvic Pain

Abstract

The presence of dyspareunia as a specific complaint should be a routine part of the gynecologic history. Even if the patient does not present with this as a chief complaint, the regular inclusion of the question of whether the patient has pain during intercourse can address emotional and physical concerns the patient may leave unspoken unless given the opportunity. Once identified, the symptoms should be dealt with by the clinician potentially as both an organic and as a sexual problem. This will allow the clinician to keep in mind that secondary sexual dysfunction can arise from initially simple organic problems. Patients should be advised at the onset that the process is ongoing and that therapy may be more than just one single treatment approach. Dyspareunia that occurs after a period of good sexual adjustment may be more amenable to an office-based counseling and educational approach, assuming that the patient and her partner are comfortable and cooperative in approaching the problem. Dyspareunia of long standing or in a more complicated relationship may require skills possessed by more highly trained professionals.