Pelvic disorders, such as incontinence, can affect the overall quality of the female sex life, according to a new study.
Three hundred women over the age of 40 participated in a research study pertaining to the affect of pelvic floor maladies on their sex lives. During the course of the study, researchers found that the likelihood of a reduced sex drive, painful intercourse and difficulty achieving orgasm were all directly linked to the appearance of pelvic floor troubles.
The term, pelvic floor maladies, refers to any condition affecting the female pelvic organs. These include the
Uterus, the
Bladder and the rectum. The muscles and connective tissues of the female region are also considered to be part of the pelvic floor.
The most common maladies in the study were urinary incontinence and the weakening of the pelvic floor muscles which allowed the internal organs to drop down into the vagina.
This protrusion of the organs into the vagina is known as vaginal prolapse and patients may suffer such symptoms as a feeling of pressure in the vagina,
Pain in the lower and back region and lower abdominal region and
Constipation that may be constant or chronic.
Researchers and doctors have estimated that nearly 1/3 of all women suffer from some form of pelvic floor condition. The previous studies regarding these conditions have fallen on both sides of the sex debate. Some studies claim the pelvic floor maladies are a negative factor in the sex lives of women while others have found it not to be a concern.
This recent study which was reported in the Journal of Obstetrics and
Gynecology is suggesting that the effect of pelvic floor maladies on a woman's sex life is indeed a negative one. The symptoms of sexual dysfunction was not present in women who suffered from mild pelvic floor maladies, however.
Researchers associated with the study believe that the link between mild forms of prolapse and sexual dysfunction (those cases not yet producing recognizable symptoms) may not be linked at all. In fact, researchers believe that the mild cases of prolapse are not to blame for the sexual dysfunction in women and therefore do not need to be studied further in these women as a potential cause for the sexual dysfunction.
At the conclusion of the study, researchers were certain that in cases of women with diagnosed pelvic floor maladies, sexual dysfunction was more common.
