What Men Need to Know About Painful Sex
Yes, men experience painful sex too. It’s just that no one talks about it. There are several types of pain men experience during intercourse and other sexual activities. According to Wayne JG Hellstrom, MD and Kenneth DeLay, MD
“The term “dyspareunia” refers to pain associated with sexual intercourse, which can affect men as well as women and cause significant psychologic distress. Male dyspareunia is defined as recurrent or persistent genital or pelvic pain with sexual activity or sexual dysfunction…”
“Studies have reported that approximately 1 to 5 percent of male patients suffer from pain with sexual intercourse. However, because of the social stigma associated with male sexual disorders, underreporting appears to be common.”
Uncircumcised men may experience painful intercourse due to issues related to their foreskin. Phimosis is whenthe foreskin is too tight and is difficult to retract, causing pain. There is also a condition called paraphimosis in which the foreskin gets pulled down and then cannot be pulled back up over the tip of the penis. Sometimes men can also have micro-tears in the foreskin that causes stinging and burning during intercourse.
Not all pain is related to foreskin conditions. Circumcised men may experience a plethora of different kinds of infections, irritations, dryness, or inflammation of the glands (head) of the penis, prostate, urethra and/or testes — all of which make intercourse painful or at least uncomfortable. Men also get yeast infections, urinary tract infection (UTIs)— these are not just female conditions. Of course, there are also painful conditions related to sexually transmitted infections.
Some men experience pain when they have an erection because they have scar tissue causing a curviture in their penis, called Peyronie’s disease. Gay males may also have pain related to anal sex at times caused by anal fissures or micro-tears.