For those thinking of jumping into a pool to beat the heat, caution is advised. Reason being, if you don’t know the correct techniques of swimming or you tend to get a bit over-zealous in the water, you might severely injure yourself in the process.
For those thinking of jumping into a pool to beat the heat, caution is advised. Reason being, if you don’t know the correct techniques of swimming or you tend to get a bit over-zealous in the water, you might severely injure yourself in the process. Take for example 21-year-old Vyanktesh Prakashan who has been paralysed after he jumped into a swimming pool in a wrong position. He is presently being treated in Lilavati Hospital & Research Centre.
Orthopaedic doctors are getting accustomed to patients who come in with complaints of muscle pulls and minor neck injuries due to wrong postures assumed while swimming or jumping into the pool.
Dr Nitin Dange, consulting neurosurgeon from Lilavati Hospital said, “Vyanktesh was brought to us in a quadriplegic condition with his four limbs (both hands and legs) paralysed. While jumping into the pool, his cervical spine vertebra was dislocated and led to a spinal cord injury.”
On April 7, Dr Dange and his team fixed the spine with a screw and rod to stabilise the damage. “The operation was successful. Vyanktesh is fine now. After the operation, we have seen 10% movement in his limbs, but it will take another three months and regular physiotherapy for marked improvement,” said Dr Dange.
Having learnt swimming as a child, Vyanktesh thought he would be able to jump into the pool easily. His overconfidence and refusal to swim under the supervision of a trainer led him to the hospital. According to doctors, Vyankatesh is lucky as the injury is not a severe high cervical injury which can lead to respiratory paralysis with low survival chances.
“I was very excited to jump into the pool and swim but I took a wrong position. As I fell, I realised that my both hands and legs were not moving and the pain was intolerable. My friends rushed me to the hospital,” said the patient.
Recollecting a similar incident that happened last year, Dr Dange said, “A 22-year-old boy from Naigaon suffered a similar cervical spine injury while swimming in a pool. It took over six months for the boy to recover after we operated on him.”
According to city doctors, summers always spell a rise in head and neck injuries because of wrong diving practices. “It is very important that inexperienced swimmers, especially children, swim under an instructor’s supervision,” added Dr Dange.
According to Dr PP Ashok, neurosurgeon from PD Hinduja Hospital, many people who go on a holiday to Goa or Alibaug return to the city with such injuries. “Sometimes they are not aware of the depth of the water and get their head or neck injured.
Recently, I had a case where a couple from Mumbai went to Goa for their honeymoon. He dived in a wrong position and is now paralysed below the neck area. Swimming needs to be done under supervision. Also, it’s recommended that people avoid swimming after consuming alcohol,” he said.
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