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The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
The most dangerous sex positions that cause thousands of injuries & they're more vanilla than you might think
YOU might think it's the kinky stuff that causes bedroom accidents but experts say it's actually the most common sex positions that are landing Brits in A&E. New research has revealed the sex positions most likely to cause painful injuries and it turns out 'vanilla' favourites like missionary are far riskier than you'd imagine. 6 The study, by sex education experts at Joy Love Dolls, analysed data from more than 1,000 people across Europe and the US who had sustained a sex-related injury. And the results might just come as a surprise. Here are the top most dangerous sex positions. Doggy Style Doggy style came out on top as the most dangerous position for women, causing over 20% of injuries. And it's no minor tumble either. Women reported a range of injuries from bruises and sprains to vaginal tearing, with one in four vaginal tears linked to this go-to position. For men, doggy was the second most dangerous, responsible for nearly 16% of male sex injuries, with cramped muscles, back pain, and even penile fractures among the most common issues. One in six penile fractures happened in this position. Missionary 6 It's missionary that takes the crown for men's worst nightmare in the bedroom. The front-facing position accounted for nearly one in five sex injuries in men, and is the leading cause of penile fractures. It also left many nursing bad backs, sprains and sore muscles. Georgie answers your sex questions Women didn't fare much better with missionary either, it ranked second for them, causing 16.3% of injuries, including 24% of vaginal soreness and 21% of tearing. Hips, legs and lower backs are all under strain in the deceptively simple pose. Scotty Unfamous, Sex Expert and Educator for Ann Summers says: although it's one of the most popular positions for sex, this fan favourite is the most common way that intimate injuries occur, as it can cause some wear and tear to your joints. "If you experience discomfort from how you are positioned during missionary sex, try incorporating cushions or a rolled-up towel/blanket to provide some support where you need it most, like under your hips, knees, back or shoulders." Switching positions 6 Another unexpected hazard was switching positions mid-romp, which might feel spontaneous but accounts for almost 10% of female injuries. It also leads to 14% of bruises and 10% of vaginal tears. Standing Standing sex, while sounding adventurous, is a major back-breaker, especially for men. Nearly half of all injuries from this position are due to back pain. For women, it's a little less risky but still responsible for over 4% of injuries. Scotty says: "A great tool to assist you standing is a sex swing, like this Door Jam Swing Restraint from Ann Summers. "To use it, you hang the stoppers over an open door then close it to keep them locked in place. "If you are the receiver, you can use it to brace your arms and legs in a multitude of ways that will keep you secure, with it's main use being seating yourself into the straps to support your body so that your partner can keep their focus on pleasuring you. Cowgirl and Reverse Cowgirl 6 Cowgirl, where the woman is on top, made the top five for both sexes. Men were more likely to suffer down below, while women saw injuries to their knees and hips. Reverse cowgirl, a trickier variation, only made up 1% of women's injuries but proved much more dangerous for men, causing nearly 6% of accidents and resulting in a fifth experiencing penile soreness. One in four men said it even led to fractures. Scotty said: "Make sure to stretch beforehand, when riding keep in mind how your anatomies fit together. "Position yourselves in a way that makes it the most comfortable by leaning forward or backwards to keep the penis inside as much as possible and communicate with your partner. "You can also use cushions to help support you both." Other risky moves include standing 69 and oral sex, with both positions unexpectedly landing people in pain. Sex educator Amy Nguyen from Joy Love Dolls warned that rough sex and poor communication are major contributors. She said: 'It's fascinating, people assume the riskiest positions are the wildest ones, but the data shows it's actually the most common positions leading to injuries. 'Rough sex is one of the biggest culprits, which highlights the need for better communication in the bedroom. You have to check in with your partner, or you could wind up hurt. 'Shockingly, only 3% of men and 5% of women said they told their partner about the injury afterwards, that lack of openness is worrying.' Over 60% of people admitted they'd been injured during sex, and more than half said they had sought help from a doctor. Amy added: 'Some of these injuries, like back pain or muscle cramps might seem minor. "But others, like tears and fractures, can be serious. Don't be embarrassed to get checked out.' And for those keeping score, vaginal soreness was the most common injury for women, while for men, it was good old-fashioned back pain. So next time you hop into bed, you might want to rethink that 'safe' go-to move. Your body will thank you later. Sexpert Scotty warns fingering can also be a danger. He said: "Our hands carry a lot of bacteria, so when it comes to stimulating our partner internally with them, it's important to make sure that your hands and nails are clean as possible to avoid cause infections. "Also keep your nails trimmed to avoid cutting your partner. "A great alternative is to incorporate a toy - try pleasuring your partner with a g-spot vibrator that mimics the shape of a curved finger to perfectly stimulate the g-spot, like the Moregasm Plus Boost Vibrator. Friction is generally not a good thing during sex as it opens you up to more risk of injury with the sensitive skin being tugged at that can cause tears and friction burn. Scotty recommends hand jobs as a popular way of pleasuring your partners with penises, and though saliva does come in handy, it has a habit of drying up too fast, so your best bet is to invest in some lube to keep things slippery and safer, like a Silky Waterbased Lube.
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
Extroverts and exercise: how personality affects our approach to the gym
Name: Gym personalities. Age: Genetically hardwired since ancient times. Appearance: Well, that depends on your personality. My personality is 'enjoys cake'. That doesn't sound very scientifically thorough, but it's a start. Do you enjoy exercise? On the basis that I'm not a masochist, no, of course not. Interesting. And why is that? Well, what if I'm at the gym and all the big men look at me? In that case I have good news and bad news. The good news is that you fit an established archetype. A study has determined that people with higher levels of neuroticism are less likely to exercise regularly. Tell me more about this study. University College London invited 132 volunteers to follow an eight-week exercise course, with questionnaires to fill in about their enjoyment levels. Who doesn't love a sweaty questionnaire? After that, they had their personalities assessed to see if they generally exhibited signs of extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism or openness. And all the neurotics hated the exercise? Kind of. All the neurotics felt shy about exercising in front of other people, and preferred to do light workouts in short bursts away from everyone. What about the others? Those who scored highly in extroversion loved high-intensity training such as weightlifting or spin classes. Finally, a scientific explanation for why spin classes are so obnoxious. However, they didn't have the best overall fitness. That went to those who scored highly in conscientiousness, because they possessed a better understanding of the long-term benefits of regular exercise. Aside from underlining how awful extroverts are, what's the point of all this? Well, it's understood that exercise is good for you. But perhaps the reason why people don't do it is because they're picking the wrong exercise for their personality type. When was the last time you went to the gym? Several years ago. There were lots of big men, and potentially some of them were aware of my existence. So that isn't the right exercise type for your personality. What if you bought some resistance bands and worked out at home every morning? Yeah, maybe I'd stick to that. There we go. And you should, especially if you consider yourself neurotic. The study showed that, of all the five main personality types, neurotics were the only group who experienced a significant reduction of stress after exercise. So exercise might make me less neurotic? It's certainly a possibility. And who knows, if you really start enjoying it, you might even become a little bit of an extrovert. I'm going back to bed. I suppose that's understandable. Do say: 'I should pick a workout that matches my personality.' Don't say: 'I hear that cowering at the state of the world burns a ton of calories.'
Reuters
4 hours ago
- Reuters
Arizona fossils reveal an ecosystem in flux early in the age of dinosaurs
WASHINGTON, July 8 (Reuters) - Scientists have unearthed in Arizona fossils from an assemblage of animals, including North America's oldest-known flying reptile, that reveal a time of transition when venerable lineages that were destined soon to vanish lived alongside newcomers early in the age of dinosaurs. The remains of the pterosaur, roughly the size of a small seagull, and the other creatures were discovered in Petrified Forest National Park, a place famous for producing fossils of plants and animals from the Triassic Period including huge tree trunks. The newly found fossils are 209 million years old and include at least 16 vertebrate species, seven of them previously unknown. The Triassic came on the heels of Earth's biggest mass extinction 252 million years ago, and then ended with another mass extinction 201 million years ago that wiped out many of the major competitors to the dinosaurs, which achieved unquestioned supremacy in the subsequent Jurassic period. Both calamities apparently were caused by extreme volcanism. The fossils, entombed in rock rich with volcanic ash, provide a snapshot of a thriving tropical ecosystem crisscrossed by rivers on the southern edge of a large desert. Along with the pterosaur were other new arrivals on the scene including primitive frogs, lizard-like reptiles and one of the earliest-known turtles - all of them resembling their relatives alive today. This ecosystem's largest meat-eaters and plant-eaters were part of reptile lineages that were flourishing at the time but died out relatively soon after. While the Triassic ushered in the age of dinosaurs, no dinosaurs were found in this ecosystem, illustrating how they had not yet become dominant. "Although dinosaurs are found in contemporaneous rocks from Arizona and New Mexico, they were not part of this ecosystem that we are studying," said paleontologist Ben Kligman of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, who led the study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, opens new tab. "This is peculiar, and may have to do with dinosaurs preferring to live in other types of environments," Kligman added. This ecosystem was situated just above the equator in the middle of the bygone supercontinent called Pangaea, which later broke apart and gave rise to today's continents. Pterosaurs, cousins of the dinosaurs, were the first vertebrates to achieve powered flight, followed much later by birds and bats. Pterosaurs are thought to have appeared roughly 230 million years ago, around the same time as the earliest dinosaurs, though their oldest-known fossils date to around 215 million years ago in Europe. The newly identified pterosaur, named Eotephradactylus mcintireae, is thought to have hunted fish populating the local rivers. Its partial skeleton includes part of a tooth-studded lower jaw, some additional isolated teeth and the bones of its elongated fingers, which helped form its wing apparatus. Its wingspan was about three feet (one meter) and its skull was about four inches (10 cm) long. It had curved fangs at the front of its mouth for grabbing fish as it flew over rivers and blade-like teeth in the back of the jaw for slicing prey. The researchers said Eotephradactylus would have had a tail, as all the early pterosaurs did. Eotephradactylus means "ash-winged dawn goddess," recognizing the nature of the rock in which it was found and the position of the species near the beginning of the pterosaur lineage. Mcintireae recognizes Suzanne McIntire, the former Smithsonian fossil preparator who unearthed it. The turtle was a land-living species while the lizard-like reptile was related to New Zealand's modern-day Tuatara. Also found were fossils of some other reptiles including armored plant-eaters, a large fish-eating amphibian and various fish including freshwater sharks. The ecosystem's biggest predators were croc relatives perhaps 20 feet (six meters) long, bigger than the carnivorous dinosaurs inhabiting that part of the world at the time. On land was a four-legged meat-eating reptile from a group called rauisuchians. In the rivers dwelled a semi-aquatic carnivore from a group called phytosaurs, built much like a crocodile but with certain differences, such as nostrils at the top of the head rather than the end of the snout. Rauisuchians, phytosaurs and some other lineages represented in the fossils disappeared in the end-Triassic extinction event. Frogs and turtles are still around today, while pterosaurs dominated the skies until the asteroid impact 66 million years ago that ended the age of dinosaurs. "The site captures the transition to more modern terrestrial vertebrate communities," Kligman said.
