Is There Science Behind Getting ‘Stuck’ During Sex?

The recent rumour of a philandering woman getting ‘stuck’ with a man at a city centre hotel last week shocked many.


Whether this is true or not, we are yet to have documentary evidence of what exactly happened.

The big question is, does it really happen? Do people really get stuck in the heat of the moment?

Dr John Ong’ech, a reproductive health specialist at Kenyatta National Hospital says it is possible though such incidences are rare.

“It is possible that a woman can go into vaginismus. This is when the muscles around the vagina tighten involuntarily when there is an attempt to penetrate it. However, this can happen during intercourse when the penile shaft has already been inserted and the muscles close in, zapping and locking on it,” he says.

Scientifically it is described as penis captivas.

The vaginal muscles of the woman clamp down on the penile shaft and sometimes the man is unable to withdraw even after losing his erection.

This would then mean that doctors would have to come in to separate the couple.

The doctor expounds further that vaginismus happens when either a woman is in fear of rape or suffers from the rare condition – vaginismus – in which case it would mean that the penis of a man would not penetrate the vagina in the first place.

The other possibility, adds the doctor, is when the man experiences increased vascularisation in any of the veins that line the muscles and the spongy material that makes up the male organ.

“Blood flows in the penis when a man is ready for sex. In scenarios where the vagina is dry and the man forces himself in, a vein could rupture in the process, causing a major swelling of the organ inside the vagina and therefore preventing it from coming out,” Dr Ong’ech explains.

Getting stuck is is common among dogs.

However, according to experts, in dogs, unlike in humans, when a dog is ejaculating the head of the penis swells up several folds and will only go back to normal after all the sperm is released. This cannot, however, be equated to humans.

Dr Ong’ech cannot comment on myths about witchcraft, but medically, there is no evidence so far that a man and a woman “got stuck” during intercourse.