Urology Meeting News: Women, Vibrators and Pelvic Health

Cedars-Sinai physician-scientist Alexandra Dubinskaya, MD, presented a study reviewing the data on the use of vibrators to address a range of female pelvic health conditions today during the 117th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Urological Association (AUA) in New Orleans.

Prescribing vibrators for women who have pelvic health concerns—for example, using the devices to improve pelvic floor muscle function and sexual function, and to facilitate treatment of vulvodynia—might be a therapy whose time has come.

The AUA has recognized female genitourinary and sexual health as cornerstones of its annual meeting and identified Cedars-Sinai’s presentation on the pelvic health benefits of vibrators as one of the leading research studies in the field.

“Only recently has the stigma of using vibrators for sexual pleasure started to fade,” said Dubinskaya, female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery specialist and lead author of the abstract presented at AUA. “However, vibrator use remains taboo—despite providing a variety of potential health benefits.”

Researchers performed a systematic review of studies on the effect of vibrator use on sexual function, pelvic floor function, and vulvar pain. 

Among the identified studies, vibrator usage was analyzed as a potential way to enhance a woman’s sexual experience and sexual health, improve pelvic floor muscle function, help combat incontinence, and facilitate treatment of vulvodynia—a chronic condition causing vulvar pain.

The findings highlight the potential benefits of vibrator use and underscore the need for more studies, Dubinskaya said, to better understand the ways vibrators can help women coping with pelvic health issues.

“More research efforts should be directed toward investigating the utility of vibrators for sexual health,” said Dubinskaya. “Considering that vibrator use has a positive effect in all domains of the sexual response cycle—desire, arousal, and orgasm—makes them a valuable enhancement and treatment tool when addressing certain sexual concerns.”

Furthermore, Dubinskaya says medical providers like gynecologists, urologists, and female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgeons need a more elaborate education on women’s sexual health and vibrators, as they are best suited to educate and recommend the vibrators to women.

The 117th Annual Meeting of the AUA takes place May 13-16 at the New Orleans Convention Center. Founded in 1902 and headquartered near Baltimore, Maryland, the American Urological Association is a leading advocate for the specialty of urology and has nearly 24,000 members throughout the world. Follow the meeting live on Twitter using the hashtag #AUA22, Cedars-Sinai at @CedarsSinaiMed and Dubinskaya at @dubinsky_a.

Read more from the Cedars-Sinai Blog: What's Normal? Women's Sexual Health Experts Weigh In