Vaginal pain is a fact of life for far too many women. Vulvodynia occurs more frequently than most people realize. Approximately 16 percent of women between the ages of 18-64 have experienced chronic vulvar pain for at least three months or more, according to a survey by Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. Vulvar pain is not a psychosomatic disorder. Vulvodynia is a pain disorder, and its cause is not yet well understood; Sufferers can experience intermittent or constant hurt for months, or even for years.