Risk of penile fractures rises at Christmas, doctors find

Researchers suspect euphoria and intimacy of season may be behind spike in cases

It may be the season of loving and giving, but doctors have warned against embracing this spirit too enthusiastically - at least where sexual relations are concerned. They have discovered that the Christmas period is associated with a significantly increased risk of penile fractures - a medical emergency in which the erection-producing regions of the penis snap, usually as a result of forceful bending during over-enthusiastic sexual intercourse.

This injury tends to occur during wild sex - particularly in positions where you're not in direct eye contact [with your partner], such as the reverse cowgirl," said Dr Nikolaos Pyrgides, a urologist at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, who led the research.