Cliff diving injury

[snopes]

Comment: An instructor led us to jump off of a cliff into water far
below(a feet-first cliff dive). The leader instructed us that we must keep
our feet tightly together, which sounded reasonable, but here is the funny
part. He then told us that we must clench our butt cheeks together or
water would rush up into our anus and potentially cause massive intestinal
damage that could kill us. I was skeptical simply because ive never heard
of anyone dying in this way, and after looking around the Internet,
including your site, I can't seem to find convincing information about
this. I found a few places where supposed experts include this as an
instruction for this type of activity, but others act like it is either
untrue, or that any water rushing into the anus wouldn't actually hurt
you. Can you check this out? I'd love to get the real scoop, and I think
it's a pretty Interesting myth (if it is a myth), because if it's not
true, can you imagine the amount of cliff jump enthusiasts and even
instructors who probably pass this warning on to others everyday all over
the world, just because they heard it from somebody, or saw it in a movie.
Alternatively, maybe it's really true and people need to be consistently
warned of this possibility! Anyway, please check into it if you have time,
and let me know.

[Richard W]

For what it's worth, I was told the same thing when I went canyoning in New Zealand a few years ago.

(Is eleven still "a few"? Oh dear).

[Beachlife!]

I'm sure it would at least depend on how far up one was diving from. Wouldn't a swimsuit damper the rushing water regardless though?

FWIW, I've done this jump which is about 20 feet: Black rock in Marquette, MII neither clenched nor had any problem with water rushing into any orifces. The water was very cold though.

[Buckle Up]

I vaguely recall a case of a little girl who was injured on a water slide in a similar fashion, with the rushing water allegedly entering her vagina so quickly that it tore tissue. Looking for link...

[Buckle Up]

Here's the discussion of the little girl's injuries.

[crocoduck_hunter]

But there's a sphincter around the anus that would prevent water from being forced up it in that quantity or rate.

[me, no really]

I heard several times that same thing about water skiing - that you wear wetsuit pants to prevent this kind of thing if you fall over backwards - and that it's more important for women than men. Not sure if it's true or not, but it is certainly repeated commonly.

[crocoduck_hunter]

Water skiing seems a more plausible place for it to be a problem: since you're being dragged behind a boat at a consistent speed, if you fell and failed to let go of the rope fast enough you'd be subject to significant pressure for several seconds rather than the mostly instantaneous effects you'd get cliff diving.

[jimmy101_again]

Originally Posted by snopes

CThe leader instructed us that we must keep
our feet tightly together, which sounded reasonable, but here is the funny
part. He then told us that we must clench our butt cheeks together or
water would rush up into our anus and potentially cause massive intestinal
damage that could kill us.

I suspect the instructor is either poorly informed in his subject matter or he was pulling peoples legs with the reason but not the basic instruction.

Clearly keeping you buttocks clenched is important. Keeping you feet together really doesn't do much unless you also tense all the muscles for your legs, including your buttocks. From even a relatively low height of say 10 feet your legs hit the water with significant force. At greater heights, if the muscles aren't tensed up correctly, you end up kneeing yourself in the chin as your legs are smashed up into your body. Divers are trained to hit the water with their body held as stiff as a board. Partly that is to make the dive prettier but in platform diving (and cliff diving) it is also to keep from getting hurt.

If you go in the water head first it is very important that the neck muscles are tensed, especially from heights of above a meter or so. At just 3 meters (~10 feet) your head hits the water hard enough to cause neck injuries if the muscles aren't tensed. Cliff divers that routinely go into the water head first do a lot of training to strengthen the neck so that they don't break it when they hit the water.

[Richard W]

Originally Posted by crocoduck_hunter

Water skiing seems a more plausible place for it to be a problem: since you're being dragged behind a boat at a consistent speed, if you fell and failed to let go of the rope fast enough you'd be subject to significant pressure for several seconds rather than the mostly instantaneous effects you'd get cliff diving.

I went water-skiing once, and fell off, and didn't think to let go. You'd have to be a contortionist to put yourself in a position where water was forced up your anal sphincter. What happens in reality is that you get dragged face-first, and can't breathe for the water going over your head.

[crocoduck_hunter]

I haven't been water skiing myself, but I have vague memories of seeing a water skier getting pulled along in a sitting position when I was a kid.

Though even with water skiing I doubt that it'd be a likely type of injury.