Why Does My Penis Hurt After Sex?

Pain during or after sex for people with penises is common and often easily treatable.

By 

Karen Pallarito

Updated on November 9, 2023

 Medically reviewed by 

Jamin Brahmbhatt, MD

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People with vaginas often experience pain during sex, but people with penises do too. If your penis hurts after sex, the causes can range from nerve issues or skin conditions to genital herpes or anxiety.

The pain from these causes can impact how enjoyable sex is, affect your performance, and even cause you to lose interest in sex or develop anxieties around it over time. Here’s what else you need to know.

1. Curved Penis

Peyronie’s disease, also known as curvature of the penis, is a common cause of penile pain. Pain in your penis during sex can be an early sign of this condition. The exact cause isn’t clear, but researchers suspect acute or chronic penis injuries or an autoimmune disease may bring on the condition.¹

2. Genital Herpes

If you have a painful sore or a blistering rash on your genitals, you may have herpes, a common sexually transmitted infection (STI) that can affect people of all genders.

Genital herpes is caused by one of two strains of the herpes simplex virus (HSV). HSV-2 is the main cause of genital herpes, but you can also get it from HSV-1, the same virus that makes your mouth break out in cold sores.²

3. Inflamed Tip

Swelling of the penis foreskin, called balanitis, is often due to an infection, allergy, or some other skin irritation. One of the first symptoms may be a painful penis or skin redness.³

It’s more common in people who are uncircumcised or have uncontrolled diabetes. Although viral and bacterial infections are possible causes, balanitis is usually due to a fungal infection.³

4. Nerve Issues

If you do sports that involve either hits to the groin or prolonged periods of sitting (like biking), you may have an injury to your pudendal nerve. The pudendal nerve supplies sensation to the genital area.⁴

Painful intercourse is one of many possible symptoms of pudendal neuralgia, pain in one or more areas innervated by the pudendal nerve.⁴

5. Prostatitis

If you hurt when you ejaculate, it’s often a sign of prostatitis, an inflammation of the prostate. Prostatitis can cause pain or discomfort in or around your anus, penis, testicles, and lower abdomen or back. It can be caused by many factors, including complications with the urinary tract and sexually transmitted infections (STIs).⁵

6. Short or Tight Frenulum

The frenulum is a band of skin on the underside of your penis that tethers the glans (the head of the penis) to the foreskin.⁶ A short or tight frenulum, known as frenulum breve, can make it difficult for your foreskin to retract.

When you have an erection, that taut piece of tissue can tilt the head of the penis downward, resulting in painful erections and pain with intercourse, Charles Welliver, MD, director of men’s health and assistant professor of surgery at Albany Medical College, told Health.

7. Skin Conditions

People with psoriasis, for example, can develop scaly patches on their genitals.⁷ In people with penises, the rash can appear on the glans, shaft, testicles, pubic area, buttocks, perineum (the area between the anus and scrotum), and all the adjacent skin folds.

Additionally, if you see thin, white patches of skin on your penis, you may have lichen sclerosis. It’s a condition that causes patchy, discolored, and thin skin. People with this condition can get tearing of the skin of the penis during intercourse or with an erection, said Dr. Welliver.⁸

8. Tension or Anxiety

Pain in the genital area can also be tied to emotional stressors. One study found that men with pelvic pain had higher anxiety and catastrophizing levels than those without pelvic pain.⁹

9. Tight Foreskin

If you’re uncircumcised, your foreskin, which covers the head of your penis, pulls back with an erection. When that fold of skin gets stuck or narrows at the tip and won’t retract, it can cause pain. This is called phimosis.¹⁰

Phimosis is more common in babies and young kids assigned male at birth. In adults, it’s often due to an underlying infection or inflammation or an injury to the foreskin. Steroid cream and gentle stretching of the foreskin may be prescribed. In recurring cases, a healthcare provider may recommend circumcision.¹⁰

10. Too Much Sex

If you’re having more sex than usual with a partner or by yourself, you may find your penis is a little sore. This type of discomfort is typically nothing to worry about. 

Treatments and Remedies

Treatments will vary based on the cause of the pain. For example, antibiotics or antiviral medicines may be prescribed if the pain is due to an infection. Sometimes surgical procedures may be necessary.¹¹

There are a few home remedies that may help relieve pain as well, such as:¹¹¹²

American Academy of Family Physicians. Sexual dysfunction in men and women.

• Emptying bladder before sex
• Taking a warm bath before sex
• Using an icepack or wrapping ice in a cloth to apply to your penis

When To Contact a Healthcare Provider

See a healthcare provider if you have any problematic or persistent symptoms with the pain. Those other symptoms might include any changes with semen, any discharge, swelling of the genital area, or bumps or lesions.¹³¹⁴¹¹

You should see a healthcare provider immediately if you have a persistent erection, known as priapism, that doesn’t go away.¹¹ Additionally, a related condition to tight foreskin called paraphimosis can occur when the retracted foreskin gets stuck behind the tip of the penis and can’t be pulled forward during an erection. This is a medical emergency that can cause permanent damage to your foreskin if left unresolved.¹⁵

A Quick Review

There are several causes for penis pain, such as nerve issues, genital herpes, or having too much sex. Treatment options for the pain will be based on the reason but typically includes medications, home remedies, or occasionally surgical procedures. Talk with a healthcare provider if you experience penis pain or have additional symptoms along with the pain.

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15 SOURCES

Health.com uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

1. MedlinePlus. Contact dermatitis.
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5. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Prostatitis: inflammation of the prostate.
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7. American Academy of Dermatology. How can I treat genital psoriasis?
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13. American Cancer Society. Signs and symptoms of penile cancer.
14. American Academy of Family Physicians. Genital problems in men.
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