Pain during sex can make penetrative vaginal sex difficult and uncomfortable.  The medical term for painful sexual intercourse is dyspareunia, but you may have also heard the terms vaginismus, vulvodynia or vestibulodynia, which can all cause painful sex.

Just over 7% of people experience pain during, or when attempting to have, receptive vaginal sex, making it very common, and there are a number of physical and psychological factors than can contribute to it. 

National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (NATSAL-3) Reference Table 67

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