“Many people have to train the anal sphincter muscles at the entrance of the anal canal to relax enough to accept a toy or body part,” says anal surgeon Evan Goldstein, DO, founder of proctological and anal plastic surgery practice Bespoke Surgical and pleasure tool company Future Method. Failure to train these muscles ahead of anal penetration can make the whole shebang feel like trying to put a square peg into a tight, round hole (no matter the shape of the actual “peg,” per se). Luckily, for that, there are anal dilators, which are smooth, tubular medical devices placed inside the anus to gently stretch the surrounding muscles.
“Many people have to train the anal sphincter muscles at the entrance of the anal canal to relax enough to accept a toy or body part.” —Evan Goldstein, DO, anal surgeon
Below, learn exactly what anal dilators are, how they work, and how to use an anal dilator set to prime your butt for frictionless butt play of all sorts.
Experts In This Article
What are anal dilators, and what are they typically used for?
Anal dilators, sometimes known as rectal dilators, are dildo-shaped medical devices that are inserted into the anus to support the health, shape, and function of the anal canal, says Dr. Goldstein. In some cases, they are prescribed to help relieve elevated pressure in the anal canal, which can cause recurring hemorrhoids (enlarged or swollen veins in the lower rectum) or anal fissures (tiny tears in the lining of the anus), says Steven Lavender, a pelvic floor therapist with Bespoke Surgical. Using anal dilators can therefore help relieve these ailments, he says.
In other instances, anal dilators, like vaginal dilators (similar tools inserted into the vagina), are used in conjunction with pelvic floor physical therapy to alleviate pelvic floor dysfunction. “Pelvic floor issues like chronic prostatitis, endometriosis, and proctalgia fugax (severe, intermittent episodes of rectal cramps that can be triggered by menstruation) can create pain that can be quite debilitating,” says Lavender. And anal dilators, in addition to relaxing anal muscles, can soften tight pelvic floor muscles, which may help relieve some of the pain associated with the above conditions.
How can anal dilators be used to improve anal play and sex?
For anal play and penetration to feel good, the anal sphincter muscles—which consist of three ring-shaped muscles along the anal canal—have to relax, creating open space in the canal, says Dr. Goldstein. In fact, trying to penetrate an anal canal that is locked shut can injure the anal sphincter muscles by pushing them past their capacity. (It’s like a hamstring strain, but in your hiney.)
Like any other muscle, these sphincter muscles are capable of either contracting or relaxing at any point—but the tricky part is, for many people, anal sphincter proprioception can be challenging, says Lavender. Meaning, you might not be able to easily tell when you’re clenching or relaxing those butt muscles in the way that you’d certainly know if you were tensing or relaxing, say, your bicep.
To complicate things further, the sphincter muscles are also “innately geared toward staying shut (or being clenched) so that we don’t crap our pants,” says Dr. Goldstein. Plus, these muscles can get locked in a contracted position during day-to-day activities like sitting at a desk or squatting at the gym, he adds. “Together, these things can create considerable muscle tone in the anal sphincter region.” And as a result, it can be a struggle to relax those muscles enough to make anal sex actually possible and pleasurable.
“[Using anal dilators] will help you regulate between relaxing to the capacity that’s needed for anal sex and [closing the muscles] when needed for the rest of daily life.” —Dr. Goldstein
That’s where anal dilators come into play. Their function is to train those often-clenching anal sphincter muscles to relax, says Dr. Goldstein. They do this by giving you something physical to clench against, which provides clear feedback for those muscles, says Lavender, helping alert you to the fact that they’re indeed clenched. Over time, this can teach you to differentiate between the feeling of contracting versus relaxing your bum, “so that you can regulate between relaxing to the capacity that’s needed for anal sex and [closing the muscles] when needed for the rest of daily life,” says Dr. Goldstein.
An added bonus? “Anal dilators also help gently stretch the skin and tissues surrounding the anal muscles,” says Dr. Goldstein. And a certain degree of skin elasticity is required for pleasurable anal penetration, he says. (But, before you ask…no, anal dilators will not permanently stretch out your butthole.)
