My wife and I have been together for 5 years, and married for 1. Our sex life is currently nonexistent. First, I want to be very clear, I am not going to cheat on her. I have zero interest in being with any other woman, in fact, the idea legitimately repulses me.
The problem is, my wife has very severe back pain frequently. Most times we attempt sex, in any position, the discomfort becomes too much for her, to the point she is actually scared to try. Seeing her visibly in pain effectively kills my libido at these times. However, I am incapable of shutting off my desires the rest of the time. Occasionally, we can do mutual masturbation, but my wife has gotten to the point she feels so badly about me being denied -through no fault of hers - she doesn't even want to be naked around me. She said she feels terrible if I get aroused and she cannot participate, so she shuts down completely, instead.
Here is the rest of the problem: while I am able to settle for masturbating like a teenager until she is feeling well enough, this upsets my wife. I assured her, and I know she understands, this is my substitute for her unavailability. But, she feels guilty and beats herself up. I thought taking matters into my own hand, so to speak, was a decent solution.
What, if anything, can I do to make things better for us?