A group of Brazilian doctors recently published a paper which identified the 'woman-on-top' (or cowgirl) as the most dangerous sex position. It judged it based on the amount of injuries which occurred to men's penises during intercourse.
Estimates say that up to one third of adults will suffer some kind of injury during or directly from sexual relationships and sometimes won't realise until the following morning.
Vice recently spoke to sexpert Dr. Kat Van Kirk about which positions are most likely to put your penis in peril.
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On the cowgirl, she said: "At times there's not enough lubrication when the woman goes to sit on the penis if there's enough force or friction or the penis catches on the pubic bone, that's when that bend will occur in that ligament. That is more common than people think."
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That also means that the reverse cowgirl is almost as bad as the standard 'woman-on-top' position. This brings me on to Bobby Box, who wrote an article titled 'I Tore My Penis During Sex - Here's What It Was Like' for Women's Health.
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Last month, Bobby "had very rough, possibly over-enthusiastic sex" with his fianceé. The couple "were in reverse cowgirl position" and then "he heard an audible crack".
Here's exactly what he had to say about the experience: "I immediately went soft and felt a sharp pain emanating from the base of my cock. Alarmed, I quickly shimmied myself off the bed and reluctantly hit the light switch, afraid of what I was about to see. Lo and behold, there it was in all its swollen glory: my very injured penis.
"My genitals looked as if I was smuggling a small water balloon in my scrotum and part of it crept up to my shaft. Although my boner used to confidently point straight forward as if declaring, 'I want YOU for the U.S. Army' it now curved to the right.
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"Right after it happened, my dick didn't really hurt, despite it looking horrible. Instead of a sharp pain, my injury just felt incredibly warm and achy, as if I'd torn a muscle."
Two hours later, he explained: "The base of my penis looked like it had a black eye. My dick was also much girthier than it was before."
He added: "Come morning, the dark bruising had completely eclipsed my dick. There was maybe a nickel-sized amount of skin that wasn't bruised. Though it looked really bad, it didn't hurt as bad as you'd think.
"Unlike an actual broken bone, the pain was more of a dull ache. At this point, the colour was a deep purple and my balls were even darker."
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He went to the clinic at 8 a.m. on New Year's Eve and informed the female doctor that in his opinion he had fractured his penis.
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Describing the response from the medic, he explained: "'You poor thing,' said the doctor as she walked in. 'So...do you want to see it?' I asked. The answer in her heart was probably no, but her obligation as a doctor was yes. I pulled down my pants and apprehensively presented my mutant penis.
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"'Have you ever seen anything like this before?' I asked as she inspected from afar. 'No', she said politely, looking slightly disgusted, though I could tell she was trying her best not to.
"She told me there was nothing we could do at the moment, no x-rays, tests, or anything were required. I'd just have to wait for my dick to heal itself. She said that the outer lining of my penis had been torn and the rush of blood that keeps my erection erect had nowhere else to go, hence the bruising."
The outer lining of the poor bloke's penis had been torn and it took three weeks for him to fully recover.
As pointed out by this story, although you don't have a bone in your penis, it is possible to fracture your manhood.
"The fracture isn't like what you understand about breaking your ankle or forearm. It's a tear in the part of the penis called the tunica albuginea," Dr. Darius Paduch Ph.D. urologist and male sexual medicine specialist at New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Centre, told BuzzFeed Life.
A study published in the journal Advances in Urology also looked at common causes of penis injuries by surveying patients in three emergency hospitals during a span of three years. In total, they saw 42 confirmed cases of penile fractures, with cowgirl the most dangerous.
That may have got you thinking that you fancy something a bit safer for your penis than the cowgirl position. In which case, there's always this.,.
The 68 Position
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Second only to the legendary 'missionary' position, the 69 is known by nymphomaniacs and sex experts as the most daring of all sexual positions.
But what if I was to tell you there was more?
What if I was to tell you that if you subtracted the legendary number by one and Googled it you would find something more.
What if I was to tell you about the fabled '68', a lesser-known position that, according to Your Tango.com, is not about providing mutual pleasure, but ensuring one partner in the couple has a seriously good time.
Would you be interested in hearing about that?
Well, you're still here, so I'm going to go ahead and take that as a yes.
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The position involves one person lying on their back and the other lying on their chest, on top of the giver.
The person on top must then position themselves so that their head is resting between the giver's thighs and their genitals are positioned over their mouth.
When the woman is on top, it means the guy's hands are free to roam wherever he likes and the girl can touch herself to heighten the experience.
According to the website, the position is "perfect for its versatility and ability to enhance sexual exploration," as you are restricted with what you can do in a normal '69' manoeuvre.
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