Mantra For Safe Diving
Posted on August 12, 2008, under Miscellaneous.
As the summer peaks, the number of people reporting to hospitals with devastating injuries due to diving accidents increases.Very often such injuries leave them paralyzed beneath the neck, for life.While in urban areas these accidents occur in swimming pools, in rural areas it usually happens in canals, lakes, ponds, rivers and sea.
Studies have shown that the majority of these injuries occur while diving into shallow water.Generally the diver strikes his head at the bottom of the pool/water body; however, diving injuries can also occur after striking another swimmer or a hidden object under water.
The bones(vertebrae) of the neck get compressed between the abruptly decelerated head and the force of the oncoming trunk.This result in a spinal cord injury due to which the individual becomes paralyzed below the neck.Since the spinal cord cells do not regenerate, the individual generally remains paralyzed for life.
Other diving related injuries include pelvic fracture and rib fracture.These accidents can be prevented by increasing awareness of the potential risks, safety precautions that should be taken while diving and use of appropriate diving skills.Here are few tips:
- Don’t dive into a pool with water less then twice your height
- Don’t dive into unfamiliar water
- Don’t drink and dive
- Be careful while trying unusual types of dives
- Aim to surface in as short a distance as possible by maximizing the fight path and targeting for a low entry angle
- As you enter the water, your arms must be extended over your head with hands flat and aiming up.Hold the head up and arch your back.This helps you steer up away from the bottom.
Safe diving can thus prevent a devastating calamity.Community awareness programmes have helped reduce diving accidents considerably world wide.
Tony on September 2, 2008
That’s like basic diving course, lesson 1. Always worth a reminder though.