To most of us, sex may be innocent fun.
But getting down and dirty can sometimes be downright dangerous.
From carpet burns to bruises, a survey has now revealed the most common sex injuries.
From carpet burns to the run to the loo to avoid a UTI, a survey of the most common sex injuries shows your risqué antics can be risky
Women are more injury-prone — with 47 per cent suffering a bedroom mishap of some kind, according to the poll of 1,003 people by LoveHoney.
For comparison, just 33 per cent of men confessed to injuring themselves during sex.
Of those who had experienced a sex-related injury, bruising was the most common (33 per cent)
It was followed by carpet burn (31 per cent) and UTIs (29 per cent).
Rounding out the top 10 were pulled muscles, vaginal tears, back injuries, allergic reactions, anal tears, haemorrhoids and twisted ankles.
Experts say anal sex is unlikely to cause new haemorrhoids, although it can worsen existing lumps.
Unsurprisingly, more than half of all sex-related injuries occurred in the bedroom. However, one in four happened in the shower.
Chantelle Otten, a Melbourne-based sexologist, provided tips on how to stop your bedroom antics ending in disaster in future.
She said: ‘Bruises can be mild to moderate and occur when capillaries under the skin burst.’
A survey by LoveHoney found that women are more likely to be injured during sex, with almost half (47 per cent) experiencing some sort of bedroom mishap
The sexpert explained that ‘hickeys, spanking and rough sex’ were the most common culprits for bruising and advised to ‘approach these acts with caution’.
Ms Otten recommended icing the area if you are in pain, or taking paracetamol.
For UTIs, she said women could reduce the risk of contracting one by peeing both before and after sex, to flush ‘unwanted bacteria’ from the urethra.
But this is disputed among experts, with some saying peeing before is not necessary unless you are particularly susceptible to UTIs.
Others claim there isn’t much scientific data support the benefits of peeing after either.
Vaginal tearing, caused by too much friction or rough penetration, was experienced by 18 per cent of people who said they had experienced a sex-related injury.
Sexpert Ms Otten said: ‘It’s important to ensure you are aroused before engaging in penetration (with fingers, penis or toy,) go slow to gently stretch the area, and use lots of lots of lube. Always.’
