What signs suggest a spinal injury in a pool setting?

• A. Headache after a dive.
• B. Numbness or tingling in fingers only.
• C. The victim being able to move and speak clearly.
• D. Head/neck pain after a dive or fall, numbness or paralysis, and the victim being unable to move; immobilize and call EMS.

Answer: (D)

Recognize signs of possible spinal injury by looking for those red-flag symptoms after a dive or fall: head or neck pain, numbness or paralysis, and an inability to move. Together, these indicate the spine or spinal cord may be damaged, so immobilization is essential to prevent further injury, and EMS should be called right away. In this setting, you’d keep the head and neck in line with the spine, avoid unnecessary movement, and remove the person from the water onto a flat surface to maintain alignment while awaiting rescue. The presence of neck or head pain after impact with numbness or paralysis and inability to move is the strongest signal for suspected spinal injury. Headache alone can come from other injuries, numbness confined to fingers can be incomplete or benign in some cases, and being able to move and speak clearly usually suggests there isn’t a severe spinal injury at that moment, so those signs aren’t as urgent.