Safety First: The Connection Style Experts Warn is Associated with the Highest Risk of Injury

If you’ve ever sustained an intimacy-related physical discomfort, rest assured you are absolutely not alone. A new survey of 1,662 people conducted by Superdrug OnlineDoctor revealed that of those surveyed, 1,023 had experienced a physical setback during physical connection at some point. That’s nearly 62 percent of people who ended up with everything from sore external tissues or internal friction to a urinary tract infection, a friction burn, or worse. It really doesn’t take much to hurt yourself when you’re being intimate—especially during more intense play (37 percent), according to the survey’s findings.

While the most frequently reported injury for women is some form of internal discomfort (57 percent), close behind in second and third place are muscle cramps (35 percent) and back pain (31 percent). Physical discomfort during intimacy is so frequent that 53 percent of the survey’s respondents had to seek professional medical attention, and 13 percent actually ended up in the emergency room—definitely not the desired ending to a night of passion.

Although nothing is completely foolproof, especially if you happen to be one of those naturally clumsy individuals (if only I had a dollar for every time I’ve tumbled off a bed mid-act), some connection styles are inherently more “hazardous” than others. Here are the top nine approaches most likely to result in an injury for women.

1. Mouth-to-Genital Contact

While I’m unsure exactly how 1.8 percent of women managed to get hurt during oral stimulation, I’d bet it involves an overly enthusiastic partner. Playful nipping while performing stimulation can be pleasurable, but actual biting? That’s where you run into genuine trouble.

2. Upright Mutual Oral Pleasure

Unquestionably, the standing Mutual Oral Pleasure is quite tricky, so it’s not shocking that 2.4 percent of women have reported an injury from this style. I imagine this type of accident likely involves an awkward fall.

3. Rear Entry Stimulation

When it comes to deeper physical closeness, if you skip the proper preparation, avoiding an injury is almost impossible. We’re dealing with a very sensitive area that requires a generous amount of moisture product to prevent friction. There’s also the critical fact that if you’re not relaxed, all the moisture product in the world won’t prevent potential discomfort. So, it makes sense that 2.9 percent of women reported an injury due to rear intimacy. Seriously, if you choose to explore this, prioritize moisture product and deep breathing.

4. Vertical Partnered Activity

The survey found that 4.5 percent of intimacy-related injuries stemmed from standing partnered activity. If you include standing while sharing closeness in the shower, that percentage climbs dramatically. To put it another way, walls don’t just exist to hold up buildings; they are also there to keep you and your partner from falling over during vertical encounters.

5. High Leg Lift

A little over five percent blamed this style for causing them harm. Look, if you haven’t stretched those hamstrings in a while, you shouldn’t be surprised when you get a sharp cramp or a Charley horse.

6. The Rider Approach

While it might seem unlikely that an approach where the woman is completely in charge could result in injury, it has for 5.7 percent of women. Of those surveyed, the most common injuries resulting from The Rider Approach were leg pains (29 percent), internal discomfort (25 percent), and knee pain (21 percent).

7. Transitioning Moves

While smoothly switching from one connection style to the next looks effortless in movies, it’s often much trickier in real life. According to the study, 9.4 percent of women ended up injuring themselves when they attempted to transition from one approach to another during intimacy. However, if you attempt this, you definitely earn an A for effort—to go along with that potential herniated disc and bruised ego.

8. The Classic Face-to-Face Connection

How, exactly, does a woman sustain an injury during the most fundamental of all connection styles? By engaging in it either too forcefully or for too long. For 16.3 percent of women, the Classic Approach resulted in an injury, and of those incidents, 58 percent were internal-related.

9. The Rear Entry Approach

And the number one connection style resulting in injuries for women, with 20.5 percent reporting getting banged up in the process, is the Rear Entry Approach. Should this surprise us? Between the vigorous movement and the need to put significant weight on our arms and wrists, the Rear Entry Approach, while amazing, can cause some serious wear and tear. For 57 percent of women, the internal area was injured, for 13 percent it was the back, and for 11 percent it was the knees.

Regardless of the connection style you are in, if something starts to hurt—no matter how close you are to achieving fulfillment—stop! There is absolutely no reason to sideline yourself for days or even weeks in pursuit of a physical release. And if you do injure yourself badly enough to require medical attention, be honest about how the injury occurred. Your doctor cannot treat you properly if they don’t know the cause. And clearly, you will not be the first patient who has walked into their office with an intimacy-related injury.