Be warned, men… doctors say you’re more likely to fracture your penis at Christmas

Men are more likely to fracture their penis at Christmas, doctors say.

German medics discovered rates of the eye-watering injury spike over the festive period.

Although the penis is not a bone, it can fracture when the appendage is subject to sharp, blunt force. Afterwards, the penis usually resembles an ‘aubergine’, turning purple and swollen.

Such injuries typically happen during vigorous sex, with positions like ‘doggy’ and ‘cowgirl’ known to present the biggest risk.

German medics have discovered the risk of penis fractures spike over Christmas . Men aged 42 were most affected by the painful injury, which occurs by fracturing the blood-filled columns which make it hard during an erection. When a penis fractures it most often happens during ‘over-enthusiastic’ sex, snapping under the weight of a partner’s body or a powerful thrust 

Experts at University Hospital of Munich analysed data from more than 3,000 men who suffered the injury in Germany between 2005 and 2021.

Forty penis fractures were logged over the Christmas period – defined as the 24th, 25th and 26th of December – throughout the study.

This represented a daily incidence rate of 0.78, or seven every 10 days.  

For comparison, it was around 0.54 the rest of the year.

No other seasonal spikes, including for New Year’s Eve, were seen during the study, published in the British Journal of Urology International.

‘If every day was like Christmas, 43 per cent more fractures would have occurred in Germany from 2005 onwards,’ the medics wrote.’

‘Our findings place a demand on couples to reduce “wild sex” during moments of relaxation to reduce the risk of penile fractures.’

In a play on Wham‘s festive anthem, the team jokingly added: ‘Last Christmas penile fractures occurred more often. 

‘This year, to save us from tears, we will not do something special (the new Christmas hit of the year).’

The team, however, acknowledged several flaws in the study, including that the days logged in the study reflected the hospital admission, not necessarily the date of the injury. 

A penis fracture happens instantaneously and requires urgent medical treatment. In many cases, a grim snapping sound can be heard.

For a man to get an erection, two spongy tubes called the corpora cavernosa fill up with blood and harden. These are surrounding by a fibrous lining, known as tunica albuginea.

A fracture occurs when these areas rupture.