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As Türkiye's summer season draws crowds to seas, pools, streams, and ponds, health officials are warning of a typical seasonal rise in diving-related neck injuries.
Medical experts caution that headfirst dives into shallow or unfamiliar waters are among the most common causes of severe summer trauma, noting that neck fractures from these incidents can result in permanent paralysis.
Dr. Izzet Bingol, chief physician at the Neurology Orthopedics Hospital within Ankara Bilkent City Hospital, emphasized that reckless behavior around bodies of water frequently leads to lifelong health complications. According to Bingol, headfirst diving into water of unknown depth—particularly in shallow areas with poor bottom visibility—is one of the most critical traumas treated each summer.
These high-impact dives often fracture the neck. When such fractures injure the spinal cord, patients can experience numbness, loss of arm strength, or, in severe instances, total paralysis. Bingol also noted that slips and falls on wet surfaces surrounding swimming areas commonly result in fractured arms, legs, shoulders, and collarbones, significantly driving up emergency room and orthopedic clinic admissions during the summer months.
Ponds and streams pose particular risks, Bingol said, since murky water and unknown, often rocky, bottoms make it difficult to judge depth and terrain before diving.
He stressed that people should never dive headfirst into water when they are unsure of its depth or floor structure, and that children should always be supervised at the water's edge.
Regarding emergency response, Dr. Bingol emphasized that anyone with a suspected neck injury must remain completely still in the position they are found in, while emergency medical services should be immediately alerted. Moving a victim incorrectly can worsen spinal cord damage, he said.
Warning signs following a headfirst dive include confusion, nausea, and vomiting. Symptoms such as severe neck pain, dizziness, numbness spreading into the arms, or a sudden loss of physical strength strongly indicate a potential fracture.
Bingol stressed that the majority of these water-related injuries are entirely preventable, urging the public to never dive into water of unknown depth, exercise extreme caution on wet surfaces near the water's edge, and maintain strict supervision to protect children.
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