Great news for women in chronic pain and their no doubt sex starved significant others - Sex can help! New studies that orgasms increase the body's ability to withstand pain. Not only that, but the effect can last for several hours. Even anal sex was shown to provide a comfoting benefit.

"Sex is nature's pain reliever. Orgasm doubles the pain threshold, although the effect doesn't last long enough to serve as a treatment." Barry Komisaruk, professor of psychology at Rutgers University in New Jersey, has found that for women, a bit of pressure in the vaginal region (not the clitoris) can dampen pain perception for hours. Research with rats suggests that rectal pressure in both sexes has a similar, but less powerful effect. Komisaruk and his students are studying women with chronic leg and pelvic pain to see if vaginal stimulation can help."