Can virtual reality help women overcome vaginismus?
NCT ID NCT06923306
First seen Jun 24, 2026 · Last updated Jul 01, 2026 · Updated 3 times
Summary
This study is testing whether virtual reality exposure therapy can help people with vaginismus, a condition where the pelvic floor muscles tighten involuntarily, making vaginal penetration painful or impossible. The idea is that gradually facing feared situations in a safe virtual environment might reduce the fear response. Twenty participants will try the therapy, and researchers will measure how easy it is to insert a small tampon-like device before and after treatment.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- virtual reality exposure therapy
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a new, non-invasive treatment option for vaginismus that helps reduce fear and pain during penetration.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very small early study with only 20 participants, so results may not apply to everyone. The therapy may not work for all, and benefits might be modest.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 20 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Apr 2025
- Expected to finish
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Jan 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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19 years and older
- Sex
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Female participants only
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: The investigators will recruit individuals who have a vagina. They expect that most participants will identify as cisgender, where sex is female and gender is woman, while others may have a female sex but identify as a different gender (e.g., genderdiverse). Transwomen (i.e., birth assigned males but identify as woman) who have had gender-affirming surgery (and so have a vagina) are eligible, as are transmen (i.e., birth assigned females but identify as men) who have not had bottom surgery (so have a vagina). Inclusion criteria: In addition to having a vagina, participants must have a diagnosis of vaginismus that requires self-reported involuntary tightness of the vaginal musculature that causes persistent interference with vaginal penetration lasting \>6 months; aged \>19 y, of any sexual orientation. Participants must be fluent in English (psychoeducational materials and questionnaires delivered in English), have normal or corrected-to-normal vision (to view the VR scenes during exposure), and be able to travel to Vancouver. Exclusion Criteria: Presence of: unprovoked vaginal pain; a vulvar skin condition (i.e., lichen sclerosus); an imperforate hymen; or epilepsy characterized by photosensitive seizures. Note: provoked vulvar pain is not an exclusion criterion because at least 40% of people with vaginismus report pain with attempted penetration.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Diamond Health Care Centre
Vancouver, British Columbia, V5Z1M9, Canada
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UBC Sexual Health Lab, Vancouver Hospital
Vancouver, British Columbia, V5M 1M9, Canada
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