New Delhi: A 21-year-old youth, Devan, suffered paralysis beneath the neck due to diving at the shallow end of a swimming pool. The doctors said that several cases of youngsters suffering from paralysis due to diving and hitting the floor of pools have been observed recently.
Deven, a regular swimmer, was brought to the Indian Spinal Injuries Centre (ISIC) after he dived at the shallow end of a pool without estimating the depth and hit his head on the floor of the pool.
When his friends noticed no apparent movement just after his dive, they rushed to his end and hauled him out of the pool. Deven had no movement in his limbs. His friends immediately rushed him to the hospital.
“In the current times, we have seen youngsters who are into adventure sports damaging their spinal columns confining themselves to the wheel chair. In some cases, such as this one, diving at the shallow end of the pool can result in paralysis. In India, we do not yet have the system where there are trained professionals who can monitor activities by amateurs and be readily available in the event if any crisis occurs,” said Dr H S Chhabra, chief of Spine Service and Medical Director at ISIC.
“In diving accidents, including high diving, injuries are mostly located in the cervical spine, generally at the fifth and the sixth vertebra. Very often the resultant paralysis is permanent. The loss of function caused by long-term paralysis can be managed through a comprehensive rehabilitation programme,” said Dr Chhabra, who also led a team of doctors who attended to Deven.
