MEN are more likely to injure their willies during sex at Christmas, according to a study.
Hospital figures show agonising “penile fractures” are more common in the festive season.
GettyPainful penile fractures are more common at Christmas, scientists say[/caption]
They happen when too much force at the wrong angle snaps and tears the soft tissue inside the penis, causing a cracking sound and pain and swelling.
Couples get more adventurous in the bedroom at this time of year, the researchers said – raising the risk of a Christmas cracker.
Dr Nikos Pyrgidis, from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany, said: “Penile fractures seem to occur in periods when couples are enjoying moments of relaxation.
“The intimacy and euphoria of these moments might lead to more frequent sex and maybe more wild sex.
“Fractures are classically caused by a forceful bending of the erect penis during aggressive sexual intercourse featuring unusual positions, for example ‘reverse cowgirl’.
“They also seem to occur during sex in extramarital affairs and unusual locations.”
His research, in the British Journal of Urology International, analysed 3,421 penile fracture cases in German hospitals between 2005 and 2021.
It found 1.2 per cent happened on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day or Boxing Day, meaning the risk was 43 per cent higher than an average day.
If every day of the year had the same rate, hundreds more men would have suffered the horror.
Injury rates were also above average during the summer and at weekends but not as high as at Christmas.
The average age of the patients was 42.
Most blokes recover after surgery to repair the torn tissue and reduce scarring.
NHS figures show the number of British men needing treatment for fractured willies is rising.
There were 169 in the year to April 2022, a rise of 37 per cent on the previous year, with the growing use of drugs like Viagra thought to be a factor.
Dr Pyrgidis added: “This is the first study that suggests a seasonality in the incidence of penile fractures.
“This year, to save us from tears, we will not do something special.”
Experts say the most dangerous sex positions for penile fractures include:
Doggy style
Missionary (man on top)
Cowgirl (woman on top)
Reverse cowgirl