Did you know that historically the term “sea legs” referred to sailors who had spent so much time on the water that their legs were bowed and they tended to sway as they gained stability upon arriving at the port? On the ship sailors had to move and sway with the ship as it rocked, lending to a widened stance also referred to as “bowlegged” in modern culture.
Many injuries were incurred as sailors including falls from slips, rigging drownings or getting caught in the ropes. Minor cuts and nominal inconveniences included severance of limbs and extremities. Often times the subsequent infections resulting from minor injuries were the tide of change for seaman. Many sailors perished due to sepsis in wounds not properly treated or dressed.
Many sailors also lost teeth on long voyages as modern OSHA standards had not been implemented leaving many sailors open to sepsis and other nefarious oral incidents. More often than not sailors also had nutritional deficiencies such as scurvy, which causes exhaustion