Experiencing Pain Wearing Tampons? Here’s How to Fix It.
If you have pain when wearing tampons, it may be your pelvic floor.
If you’re experiencing pain while wearing tampons, you are not alone! Many people struggle with this issue. 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.
Tight pelvic floor muscles can also make it harder to insert or remove a tampon smoothly. Over time, chronic tension in these muscles may lead to pelvic pain during other activities, such as sexual intercourse or exercise. Learning to relax the pelvic floor through stretches, breathing exercises, or pelvic floor therapy can make tampon use more comfortable and reduce overall pelvic discomfort.
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. Over time, this therapy can improve muscle flexibility, reduce pain during tampon insertion, and restore comfort during everyday activities.
Pelvic floor therapy includes:
Internal techniques: Gentle internal massage or trigger point release of pelvic floor muscles to relieve tightness.
External techniques: Massage of surrounding muscles like the glutes, hips, lower back, and abdomen to reduce tension that contributes to pelvic pain.
Soft tissue mobilization: Helps improve blood flow and reduce discomfort.
Strengthening & coordination: Some people have weak or poorly coordinated muscles that make insertion painful; targeted exercises help restore balance.
Relaxation techniques: Breathing exercises and mindfulness to reduce involuntary muscle tension, which can make tampon insertion easier.
Other Causes of Tampon Pain
In addition to tight pelvic muscles, there may be other possible causes of pain from tampons, including:
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!
Don’t wait to get the help you need. Reach out and speak with one of our Maryland pelvic floor therapists today and solve your pelvic floor dysfunction for good! Together, we can address your pelvic floor dysfunction and help you feel like yourself again!
Alpha Project Phyzio has three convenient locations across Maryland: Gaithersburg, Columbia, and Frederick.
