Written by
Stacy Miller
Have you ever been at the gynecologist’s preparing to receive a pap smear, when all of a sudden you notice your vagina twitching? Maybe you’re having sex and had to stop due to painful vagina spasms. If you relate to either of these scenarios or are one of the 1 to 7% of women who have dealt with a condition called vaginismus or vaginal spasms, you’re not alone. Having muscle spasms in a private area can be incredibly distressing and uncomfortable. It’s perfectly understandable to feel concerned, frustrated, or even anxious when something like this happens in such a personal part of your body. In this article, we’ll talk about what causes vaginal muscle spasms, how they tie to your overall health, and ways you can effectively manage symptoms.
A vaginal spasm is an involuntary muscle spasm in vagina or the surrounding pelvic floor. While it’s widely believed that this condition only affects between 1 to 7% of women. Women who experience these muscle twitches can feel slight discomfort, an aching throb, burning, persistent tightness, or sharp or dull pain during sexual intercourse, medical exams like pap smears, or when inserting a tampon. Depending on the severity, these sensations can range from an annoyance to debilitating. The question is, “What causes vaginal spasms? Let’s discuss the answer below.
If you’ve ever experienced vaginal spasms, you were probably wondering, “Why is my vagina twitching?” There are a few possible causes:
There are multiple symptoms associated with vaginal spasms, ranging from mild to severe. They include:
Unfortunately, there’s a lot of misinformation out there about what can happen due to your hormone fluctuations during the menstrual cycle. Believe it or not, but changing hormone levels shouldn’t be overly disturbing or significantly affect your normal life, including your sexual life or your ability to insert a tampon into your vagina. Although progesterone affects smooth muscles and provides a relaxing effect when its levels are high, it shouldn’t lead to any noticeable changes in your vagina or spasms when progesterone levels drop.
Closer to the end of your reproductive years, in the late transition to menopause, your estrogen levels drop significantly. This greatly affects your vaginal mucus, including the lubrication on the vaginal walls, commonly leading to a feeling of dryness. Due to limited research in this area, we don’t know how frequently, but during this time, some women may experience vaginismus for the first time, potentially due to the dryness and atrophy of the vaginal walls. However, it’s important to remember that vaginismus can also stem from other causes, such as the result of pelvic floor surgery, or various relationship and sexual issues.
Tracking your hormones is one of the most effective ways to better understand your body and symptoms. Hormona is an award-winning hormone tracker that goes beyond simple cycle tracking. It allows you to input symptoms and access numerous resources to take the mystery out of how hormones impact your body. There’s also hormone testing kits that let you test your hormonal levels so you can take control of your hormonal health.
If you’re experiencing vaginal spasms, whether they’re mild or more noticeable, it can be tough to know the right time to speak with a doctor. We encourage you to seek professional help to enhance your quality of life, regardless of how light or moderate your spasms may feel. You deserve to feel comfortable and well. For moderate to severe spasms, please reach out for help without delay, especially if they are accompanied with:
All medical consultations are confidential and private, so you don’t have to be fearful, embarrassed, or hesitant to talk to your doctor about vaginal spasms. Many women experience similar issues, so there’s no need to suffer needlessly. Please know that there are a range of effective treatment options available to help you, often working best when combined for a holistic approach.
Typically, the treatment begins with gently building touch tolerance, gradually and empathetically acclimating your body to touch in the affected area. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is often recommended to reframe fearful thoughts.
Pelvic floor physical therapy teaches you control and relaxation of these specific muscles, while desensitization with vaginal dilators involves a gentle, progressive approach to increase your comfort with insertion. In some cases, medications might be prescribed to manage pain or related symptoms. Although less common, surgery can be considered in specific circumstances.
Managing vaginal spasms is possible with the right lifestyle modifications and self-care techniques. Here are a few helpful tips you can implement from home.
A warm bath or heating pad can help relax vaginal muscles and increase blood flow, reducing or eliminating spasms.
Standing or sitting can put pressure on your pelvic floor, worsening vaginal spasms. Changing positions by lying down and elevating your legs with a pillow helps relieve pressure.
Stress can worsen vaginal spasms since it puts you into fight or flight mode, which causes your muscles to become overactive and tighten. This muscle tension, combined with a heightened nervous system, makes you more sensitive to pain and increases muscle spasms. Reducing stress can help your muscles relax so you feel better.
If you experience vaginal spasms, you may feel confused or fearful. These muscle contractions can be painful and make activities like sexual intercourse, using a tampon, or exercising difficult. There’s many reasons why vaginal muscle spasms may occur, including injury, surgery, and stress. Symptom management through medical intervention or lifestyle changes can help reduce symptoms so you can feel better. Tracking your hormones with Hormona gives you the insights you need to better understand your hormones and take control of your hormonal health.
If by ‘cervical spasms’ you mean your neck muscles, it may be a sudden, involuntary pain that leads to stiffness in your neck. However, if you’re wondering if your uterine cervix can have a spasm, and if so, whether this spasm can be felt, you’re unlikely to feel something of that kind. This is because, during your period, your uterus contracts, and menstrual fluid passes through the cervix to leave the cavity. Even if the cervical canal is quite narrow, which happens rarely, blood still can leave the cavity and you’re unlikely to feel anything except cramping pain in the lower abdomen.
You may feel it as it’s hard to pee completely, and you need to strain to empty your bladder.
What you experience often hints at the affected area or underlying cause, whether it’s menstrual cramps, digestive discomfort, or bladder irritation. Many describe them as quick, mild passing cramps, a pulling sensation, or a dull, brief ache.
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Dr Singh is the Medical Director of the Indiana Sleep Center. His research and clinical practice focuses on the myriad of sleep.
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