anatomy

When I tell someone that I help people with problems related to the abdomen, pelvis, and pelvic floor, I often get a curious look. What is the pelvic floor, after all? How do we care for it and the tissue around it? Here’s a thorough walkthrough of the anatomy of your pelvic floor and perineum and how you can keep tabs on this area of the body.

This edition of Pelvic Problems covers one of the most common problems that pelvic health physical therapists encounter: the non-relaxing pelvic floor (NRPF). This can cause a variety of symptoms, ranging from constipation and difficulty peeing to pain with sex and sitting. Fortunately, there’s a lot that can be done to help people with non-relaxing pelvic floors!

If we have the idea that puberty or pregnancy are the only big body changes we'll experience in life, and we come to perimenopause or menopause not understanding that they, too, are another big phase with some big change, it can be a real shock. However and whenever you might get to menopause or the menopausal transition, knowing about it in advance will always make the experience better. Whether you want to find out about it way in advance, you're in or approaching some form of it now -- like POI or with hysterectomy -- or you want to know more to support someone in it in your life, here's a place to start.

If you're here because you or your partner(s) have experienced pain with anal sex, you’re in the right place, regardless of whether the pain has happened multiple times or just once. I’m here to shine some light on anodyspareunia, a fancy name for anal sex being painful.

Endometriosis is a complicated and often debilitating condition. It’s believed to occur in approximately 10% of people with uteruses of “reproductive age." That’s approximately 200 million people worldwide – a whole lot of folks! About two-thirds of people with the condition will develop symptoms before the age of 20, but it may take several years and consultations with multiple healthcare providers to receive a diagnosis. One of my missions in spreading awareness about endometriosis is to help more people receive a diagnosis and appropriate care more quickly.

Who knew a discussion with an ex-boyfriend about squirting would set Pussypedia co-founder Zoe Mendelson on a quest across the internet in search of trustworthy, fact-based sexual health information about her body that led to starting a bilingual, diverse, and inclusive digital encyclopedia? (Not Zoe!) We talked to her to find out all about this new resource and Zoe's experience making it.

I don't think these questions are silly or foolish. Most of us, and I count myself in this group, don't get many opportunities to learn about our bodies, or much about sex, and find ourselves either figuring things out as we go along or searching for information to help us. Sometimes that's even the...

You know, one of the neatest, most interesting things about sex from my perspective, is that what people do and don't enjoy is so diverse. One person's least favorite sexual activity is another person's favorite. I think that's really cool. All of our bodies, sexualities and situations are so...

This is definitely not a silly question. In fact, many people with vaginas experience the feeling of having to pee from stimulation inside the vagina by fingers, sex toys or a penis. Understanding your body and anatomy can help to explain why you feel like you have to urinate during sex, and also...

No. It is not possible for a gynecologist to tell if someone has been sexually active, either with themselves or with a partner through an examination. The only exception might be if you were examined shortly after masturbating; the doctor might notice redness or irritation of the vulvar tissues...