Hi, I am Dr. Alicia Jeffrey-Thomas. I'm a pelvic floor physical therapist, and I'm here to answer questions submitted with a plusOne community.

So what's a dilator?

So dilators are progressively sized cylindrical devices that are used to help people who have pain or difficulty with insertion. That could be anything from a tampon to a speculum for a pelvic exam to having intercourse.

This can be due to a variety of reasons. These issues can occur in younger people, but can also be a result of changes related to menopause.

But basically, you can work through the different sizes, teaching your pelvic floor muscles to relax and applying gentle stretch to the tissues in a pain-free, non-threatening way.

Follow along to see what questions answered next.