Sport
Springboard and platform diving is a few seconds of power and rotation, then a head-first entry that hits the water at about 50 to 60 km/h from the 10 m platform. Divers train as much on dry land as in the pool, and most of their injuries happen in training, at take-off and at entry: backs, wrists and shoulders, with the board itself the commonest cause of injury in young recreational divers. This guide is about springboard and platform diving, high diving, and diving into pools, rivers and the sea; it doesn't cover scuba diving or freediving.
It starts with the danger that matters most outside the sport, diving into shallow water, in plain words and with first aid. Then it covers what diving asks of your body, the common injuries and what's known about preventing them, World Aquatics' depth, age and lifeguard rules (February 2026), Swim England's guidance, training, and when to see a doctor, with a dryland workout and a poolside warm-up, each with a 3D demo of every move.
A dive is a take-off from a springboard (1 m or 3 m) or a platform (up to 10 m), somersaults and twists in the air, and an entry that should be vertical and almost splashless; from 10 m, divers reach the water at about 50 to 60 km/h. At age-group level in England, half of training is on dry land. The Compendium of Physical Activities lists springboard and platform diving at 3.0 METs (metabolic equivalents), an estimated value.
In 63 Australian national-programme divers followed for four seasons, 70 to 85% were injured each year, 79.3% of injuries happened in training and 2.4% in competition, and water entry and take-off were the commonest causes.
Source 5
Up to 89% of young elite divers have had back pain, stress fractures of the lower spine are common, and head-first entries load platform divers' wrists and every diver's shoulders.
Outside the sport, a head-first dive into water that's too shallow is a leading cause of spinal cord injury in young men. Of 160 people treated for it in northern Germany, two-thirds were completely paralysed on admission and 17% walked again.
World Aquatics sets minimum depths of 3.40 to 4.50 m under its boards and platforms, with 5.00 m preferred, three lifeguards trained in neck injuries, and a minimum age of 14 for the Olympics and world championships. Swim England's first sessions ask for a 25 m swim in water over 3 m deep, and under-18s aren't weighed unless they're on a national talent pathway.
No injury prevention programme has been trialled in divers. In other sports, strength training cut injuries to under a third, while stretching didn't prevent them.
This is about diving into pools, rivers, lakes and the sea for fun, not the sport, and it's here first because the stakes are paralysis and death.
If you dive head first into water that's too shallow, or onto a slope, rock or sandbank you can't see, your head hits the bottom with the weight of your body behind it, and your neck can break. Of 160 people treated for this in northern Germany between 1980 and 2018, 97.5% were male and their average age was 24. Two-thirds (66.2%) were completely paralysed on admission, 10.6% needed resuscitating before they reached hospital, they spent an average of 202 days in hospital, and 17% walked again.
What the studies of spinal cord injury from diving found:
In a review, 89% of diving injuries happened in water under 1.52 m deep, and even trained swimmers needed at least 1.22 m of water for a racing dive. For a shallow dive from the side of a public pool, the Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) guidance for UK pools (2018) cites the Amateur Swimming Association's minimum of 1.5 m of water with at least 7.6 m clear ahead.
Each in its own terms:
How deep a dive goes depends most on how far out you travel and how flat you enter: the researchers advise a long, flat dive, steering up to the surface, with your arms out in front to protect your head. In 34 recreational swimmers with poor diving skills, seven 10-minute lessons made dives shallower and got rid of an unsafe arm action before the deepest point, and the gains lasted 20 months in the 16 who came back; there was no comparison group. In children aged 6 to 8, the sitting dive hit the water most slowly.
Children aged 7 to 10 understood "No Diving" signs but didn't expect to be hurt, and experience of diving made them play the risk down; the authors suggest signs that name a broken neck, and adults who watch. In New Zealand, 25% of teenage boys and 14% of girls had dived head first knowing the water was shallow. A Slovenian national campaign was followed by 1 to 2 new spinal cord injuries a year, but its authors said it was too early to credit the campaign, and a Canadian school safety video was used by most schools that received it. No controlled trial of a campaign was found (our search).
Go in feet first the first time, and check the depth yourself every time, because tides and rivers change it. Never dive into the shallow end, an above-ground pool, or from a dock, pier or rock, never dive after drinking, and dive only where a pool says you can. Our swimming page gives the same advice for open water.
Assume a neck injury. St John Ambulance: "Do not move them and do not tell them to move, unless they are in immediate danger. Call 999 or 112 for emergency help". Hold their head so the head, neck and spine stay in line; if they're unresponsive, open their airway by lifting the jaw without tilting the neck, and if they're not breathing, start CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation). In the water, getting their face out and keeping them breathing comes first. Neck injury and drowning together are uncommon, and a beach study concluded that neck precautions are needed when there are signs or a history of a heavy blow down through the head, as in a dive into shallow water.
Springboard diving is from 1 m and 3 m boards, and platform diving from 5, 7.5 and 10 m. The Olympic events are the 3 m springboard and 10 m platform, individually and synchronised; world championships add the 1 m springboard and mixed events. Every dive belongs to one of six groups (forward, back, reverse, inward, twisting and armstand) and is done straight, piked, tucked or in a free position. World Aquatics' entry rule (February 2026): the body should be vertical, "straight, not bent or twisted, the feet kept together, and the toes pointed such that the water's surface is minimally disturbed", with the arms stretched beyond the head for head-first entries.
Source 11
A dive is a hurdle and take-off, a short flight and an entry: from 10 m, divers reach the water at about 50 to 60 km/h. In 16 Brazilian national-team divers, knee-extensor strength was high for their body weight but knee-flexor strength low, with flexor-to-extensor ratios of 0.39 to 0.49. Male world-class divers had a low share of slow-twitch muscle fibres (36%) in one small study.
At age-group level in England, divers train 4 to 6 times a week for 2 to 3 hours, half on dry land and half in the water, and Swim England says complex dives aren't the priority: "a strong competency in all of the diving groups" is. Dry land means trampolines with spotting rigs, dry boards over landing mats, somersault boxes and a foam pit. Take-offs on dry land and from the real board differ, so dry land prepares divers rather than replacing the board.
The Compendium lists springboard and platform diving at 3.0 METs, an estimated value, so our calories calculator doesn't include it. A session is mostly climbing, waiting and short dives (our reading).
Source 4
The sites the studies point to:
Jump and landing power, leg strength with hamstring work to balance strong thighs, wrist and forearm strength, rotator cuff and shoulder-blade control, the straight and tucked shapes, and shoulder and hamstring range for the entry and the pike.
Competition studies count injuries per athlete or per session, season studies per 365 days of training, and surveys ask divers what happened. Figures in different lines aren't directly comparable.
The numbers, by group:
Up to 89% of young elite divers have had back pain, and 37.3% of 83 Japanese elite juniors had low back pain at a national camp. In 20 young elite divers, 65% had changes on a spine MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan at the start, and the changes got worse in about half over 5 years. Stress fractures of the back of a vertebra (spondylolysis) were found in 35% of divers in a review, the highest of any sport, though from only 65 divers in two small studies. Our back pain and spondylolisthesis guides cover these.
At one French national championship, 18 of 21 platform divers (85.7%) had wrist pain from the impact of their hands with the water. A review found growth-plate stress in 52.6% of platform divers' wrists, and on MRI, injury to the growth plate at the end of the forearm bone (the radius) was found in 42.9% of painful adolescent divers' wrists against 11.8% of pain-free ones. Our gymnast's wrist guide covers growth-plate stress, and our wrist pain guide the rest.
Shoulders were 22.7% of divers' injuries at the 2013 world championships, and in US college diving 32% of men's injuries against 8% of women's; collarbone, AC (acromioclavicular) joint and thoracic outlet problems are described in case reports. Our shoulder pain guides cover these.
Source 1
In US emergency departments, hitting the board or platform caused 43.9% of diving injuries in under-20s between 1990 and 2006, and 34% between 2008 and 2020. Among injured children, backward dives raised the odds that the injury came from hitting the board 16-fold, and flips or handstands 6.9-fold. Head and neck injuries (38.2%), face injuries (21.7%) and cuts (33.9%) were the commonest.
Neck injuries in competitive diving are rare but do happen; the authors of a case report say neck pain that persists after a diving injury needs full investigation. Our neck pain guide covers neck pain without injury.
Source 43
At the 2019 world championships, 24.6% of 377 aquatic athletes screened positive for depression and 2.5% for an eating disorder, and unwanted comments about the body were 40.2% of the harassment they reported. Swim England names diving as a high-risk sport for eating disorders, and experts warn that eating too little to look a certain way threatens divers' health and performance. Our eating disorders guide covers this.
Training more than competition; platform divers for wrists and the upper body, springboard divers for the lower body; back and reverse dives; women in US college diving; more years of diving, while starting before 13 went with fewer shoulder and wrist injuries in one survey; and stiffer shoulders in male juniors. These are associations.
No injury prevention programme has been tested in divers. The rules and guidance, in their own section below, are the main protection, and the strength evidence is borrowed from other sports; each note says so.
Across 25 trials in other sports (26,610 people), strength training cut sports injuries to under a third, while stretching made no difference. No trial has tested it in divers.
Source 14
In male elite juniors, better shoulder flexibility went with less low back pain, and divers with back pain entered the water more arched. The authors suggest that flexible shoulders let divers reach a vertical entry without arching the lower back. No trial has tested it (our search).
Many divers tape or brace their wrists, but an expert review calls this "only modestly effective", and no trial exists. A wrist that's painful or swollen the next day needs a doctor.
Source 52
Most injuries happen in training, at entry and take-off, and surveillance limited to competitions misses them. Our suggestion: count dives as well as hours, build new dives up on dry land and lower boards first, and treat repeated rip entries from height as load.
Backward dives and flips raise the odds of hitting the board, and HSE lists backward dives, running dives and somersault entries among dangerous dives in public sessions. Our suggestion: one diver on the board at a time, the water below clear, and back and reverse dives and somersaults only with a coach.
In 182 US divers, starting before 13 went with fewer shoulder and wrist injuries and specialising early wasn't linked with injury, while more years of diving went with more injuries everywhere. It's one survey, so it doesn't show that starting young protects.
Swim England's policy (version 3, August 2025; a policy since June 2023): "athletes under the age of 18 should not be weighed unless they are on a nationally supported talent pathway", and height is the main measure of growth. Where weighing is justified, consent can be withdrawn without any effect on selection, it's done in private and no more than monthly, and "No subjective comments concerning the weight or body composition of any member should be made by anyone". Experts recommend that divers eat 3 to 8 g of carbohydrate per kg of body weight a day and 1.2 to 1.7 g/kg of protein, spread through the day.
No study has tested an injury prevention programme, wrist guards or taping, or whether pool bubblers prevent injuries in divers (our search).
No strength or conditioning trial in divers was found (our search), so most of this is borrowed or our suggestion, and each note says so.
In elite springboard divers, dry-land and board take-offs differed in step length, jump height and how far the board bent. In 4 elite women, 12 weeks of practice that deliberately varied the take-off conditions raised the share of dives completed from between 79% and 87% to between 96% and 99%, and cut balked take-offs from between 13% and 19% to under 5%. There was no comparison group.
Divers' strength tests show strong thighs and relatively weak hamstrings, which the authors suggest correcting. Our gymnastics and trampolining workouts borrow small trials in young gymnasts, where extra jump sessions raised jump height, and junior trampolinists, where short maximal pushes raised their time in the air. Swim England says gymnastics, trampolining, dance and flexibility work help young divers.
One session on a vibration platform raised flexibility and jump strength for at least 15 minutes in 18 divers. It's an acute effect only.
Source 60
Full shoulder flexion matters for a straight entry, and stiffer shoulders went with back pain in male juniors. Our suggestion: shoulder and hamstring mobility most days, with short holds before diving and longer ones after.
Experts estimate needs in training at about 3,500 kcal a day for male and 2,650 kcal for female divers, with carbohydrate of 3 to 8 g/kg a day and protein of 1.2 to 1.7 g/kg in 20 to 30 g amounts through the day.
Source 54
At age-group level, 4 to 6 sessions a week, half on dry land. Our suggestion: the conditioning in our dryland workout twice a week, away from the hardest board sessions, with the jumps first while you're fresh.
No study has tested tapering in divers. Our suggestion: cut dry-land volume in the last week or two before a key competition and keep your list sharp on the board, as our swimming workout advises before a meet.
Source 3
From World Aquatics' Competition Regulations (in force from February 2026, updated 18 February 2026) and Swim England's pages. No study has measured these rules' effect on injuries (our search).
The minimum depth at the plummet, the line straight down from the end of the board or platform, with 5.00 m preferred for all:
Source 11
"Mechanical surface agitation must be installed under the diving facilities to aid the Athletes in their visual perception of the surface of the water", using a horizontal sprinkler, and the water must be at least 28°C.
Source 11
"Lifeguards must be experienced in deep water rescue and in the management of suspected cervical spine injury", with at least three on duty at all times during training and events, and a first-aider in the dry-land area. Getting an injured athlete out of the water "requires practised teamwork", and an unconscious athlete is stabilised on a flotation device.
Source 11
Divers must be at least 14 by 31 December of the year to compete at the Olympics, world championships or World Cups. World junior groups are 14 to 15 and 16 to 18, and national federations can set their own: England's national age groups run from 9 to 11 up to 16 to 18, with skills finals for children down to 8 and 9.
Every venue must have a trampoline with spotting equipment, and World Aquatics recommends dry boards over landing mats, trampolines with spotting rigs, crash mats, somersault boxes and a platform into a foam pit.
Source 11
Healthcare staff must assess a suspected concussion with the Sports Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT), which "cannot be performed correctly in less than 10 minutes", from age 13, and World Aquatics can remove an athlete whose taking part poses a risk.
Source 11
For its Inspired to Try Diving sessions, "your child must be able to swim a minimum of 25 metres unaided and without goggles in a depth of over 3 metres"; the sessions are for children aged 16 or under, led by a qualified coach with no more than 12 children each, and "Goggles are not permitted in diving lessons, due to the risk of injury from head first entries".
Source 12
Swim England's concussion guidance (March 2023) leads with "if in doubt, sit them out", includes an example return-to-training plan for diving, and says "any return to sport should be guided by an appropriately qualified medical practitioner"; we couldn't open the guidance document itself. The UK guidelines for grassroots sport apply too, with no competition before day 21. Our concussion guide has the stages.
World Aquatics' high diving is from 20 m for women and 27 m for men. Senior divers must be at least 18 and "submit evidence of safely performed high dives and be approved as 'safe to compete'"; juniors aged 15 to 19 dive from 15 m. At entry the body is vertical with the arms by the sides, so divers go in feet first (our reading of the rule). The water must be at least 5 m deep under the platform (5.80 m preferred) and at least 18°C in open water; the referee can pause a competition in winds over 40 km/h, it stops if lightning strikes within 3 km, and safety teams include scuba divers in open water, rescue boats, spinal boards and defibrillators. "High Diving facilities are only for the use of expert Athletes, they are not suitable for public use."
Source 11
In 132 cliff and splash divers, injuries ran at 7.9 per 1,000 hours, 79% of them on entry. Practice was 2.5 times as risky as competition, and experienced amateurs were hurt more often than professionals, who more often did dry-land training. At elite events between 2009 and 2021, water safety teams stepped in about once every 265 to 295 high dives, and 26% of the men and 42% of the women they helped then needed hospital checks; new dives, entry position, moving water and cold were behind incidents. Reviewers propose limits on dive numbers, technique training and psychological support.
A physical model, using forces that injure cadavers, put the height at which a head-first entry could injure the neck at about 8 m, a hands-first entry the collarbone above about 12 m, and a feet-first entry the knees above about 15 m. The authors note that trained cliff divers go feet first from 18 to 26 m, and that professional divers' conventional wisdom is to jump feet first above 10 m.
Source 67
Jumping from cliffs and piers into the sea, lakes and quarries has caused at least 20 deaths and 70 life-changing injuries in the UK in two decades (RoSPA). The water can be shallower than you think as the tide changes, you can't see rocks under the surface, cold water shock makes it hard to swim, currents can sweep you away, and getting out can be harder than you expect. In an emergency, Float to Live and call 999.
High diving is a sport for trained adults at supervised venues. Don't copy it.
Built on our warm-up guide and our gymnastics warm-up (editorial): no diving warm-up has been tested on injuries. The doses are the gymnastics warm-up's, with the jump squats from our surf warm-up and the short holds from our warm-up guide.
Loading the 3D figure…
The movement on the figure: Jump squat
Take-off jumps and landings, legs and hamstrings, wrists and shoulders, the entry shapes, and the stretches for the entry and the pike. Each has a 3D demo.
3D demoJump squatIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoBox jumpIntermediate · A bench or box
3D demoSnapdown to athletic landingBeginner · No equipment
3D demoSingle-leg hop and stickIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoDumbbell goblet squatIntermediate · A dumbbell
3D demoNordic curlAdvanced · An anchor point
3D demoWrist curlsBeginner · A dumbbell
3D demoReverse wrist curlBeginner · A dumbbell + A bench or box
3D demoStanding band external rotationBeginner · A band + An anchor point
3D demoScaption raiseBeginner · A dumbbell
3D demoHollow body holdIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoTuck-up (cocoon)Intermediate · No equipment
3D demoOverhead lat stretch at a bench (elbows on the bench)Intermediate · A bench or box
3D demoSupine hamstring stretch with a strapBeginner · No equipmentThe first two are new: a dryland workout and a poolside warm-up. The gymnastics and trampolining sessions add jumps, landings, wrists and shapes; the swimming ones add pulling strength and shoulder care; the rest add wrists, handstands for armstand dives, jumps, flexibility and light exercise after a concussion.
A 45-minute dryland session for springboard and platform divers: take-off jumps, landings, squats and Nordics, wrist and shoulder work, hollow holds and tucks.
45 minIntermediate22 movesA bench or box, A dumbbellA 15-minute poolside warm-up for divers: skips, wrist circles and rocks, shoulder work, cat-cow, hollow holds, leg swings, short stretches and take-off jumps.
15 minBeginner15 movesA band, A wallA gymnastics conditioning session: jumps from the youth vault trial, landings, wrist and shoulder strength, wall handstands, and hollow and arch holds.
45 minIntermediate22 movesOther / check instructions, A stepA gymnastics warm-up: skips, wrist circles and rocks, shoulder work, cat-cow, hollow and arch holds, leg swings, short splits holds and landings.
15 minBeginner18 movesA band, A wallStrength for trampolinists: maximal isometric squat and calf pushes from one small study, pogo hops, tuck jumps, landings, trunk shapes and pelvic floor.
45 minIntermediate14 movesA wallA 45-minute dryland session for swimmers: jumps for starts and turns, heavy pulls, leg strength and trunk work, twice a week alongside the pool.
45 minIntermediate14 movesA band, A bench or boxA 20-minute rotator cuff and shoulder-blade routine for swimmers, from a 12-week trial in competitive swimmers, plus a daily cross-body stretch.
20 minBeginner9 movesA wall, A dumbbellWrist mobility and forearm strength for desk work, climbing, push-ups and handstands.
10 minBeginner7 movesA wall, A dumbbellBuild toward a handstand: wrist prep, dolphin pose, pike push-ups, crow, the wall handstand and freestanding holds.
25 minAdvanced8 movesA wallAn advanced jump training session: pogo hops, box jumps, split squat jumps, broad jumps and depth jumps.
30 minAdvanced8 movesA bench or box, A stepA staged jump session for 8 weeks: landings and small jumps, then box and broad jumps, then depth jumps, each followed by squats, hinges and calf work.
40 minIntermediate16 movesA step, A bench or boxA 12-minute routine to loosen tight hamstrings with strap stretches, PNF, folds and hinges.
12 minBeginner7 movesNo equipmentA 25-minute band routine for healthy shoulders: move the shoulder and upper back through their range, then strengthen the rotator cuff and shoulder blades.
25 minBeginner12 movesA wall, A bandA 20-minute light session after a concussion: a symptom check, 10 to 15 minutes of easy cycling or walking, gentle bodyweight moves and a cool-down.
20 minBeginner8 movesCardio machine, A bench or boxA 10-minute cool-down for after a run, a class or a gym session: a few minutes of easy movement, stretches for the muscles you used, then slow breathing.
10 minBeginner9 movesCardio machine, A wallTwo dryland strength sessions a week fit around board training.
Two full-body strength sessions a week: the minimum that meets health guidelines, with every set, rep and rest, and an 8-week progression.
2 training days45 minBeginner3 days a weekA 12-week calisthenics plan for beginners: three bodyweight sessions a week with push-up, pull-up, squat and dip ladders, and a bar if you have one.
3 training days40 minBeginner3 days a weekA weekly workout plan for women: three strength days, cardio and pelvic floor training, with the evidence on periods, pregnancy and menopause.
3 training days45 minBeginnerThe PAR-Q+ (Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire for Everyone) asks about a heart condition or high blood pressure, chest pain, dizziness or losing consciousness, other long-term conditions and their medicines, a bone or joint problem that activity could make worse, and being told to exercise only under supervision. If you answer yes to any, check with your doctor or a qualified exercise professional first, and delay if you're ill.
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In US diving spine injuries, previous neck surgery, a slipped vertebra and narrowing of the spinal canal all went with a much higher chance of spinal cord injury, and diving is a dangerous mechanism for neck injury. Don't dive head first until a specialist has cleared you; go in feet first (our suggestion).
Our Down syndrome guide explains that the Down's Syndrome Association counts diving, trampolining, contact sports and high jump as carrying a higher risk of neck injury, and that Special Olympics Ireland restricts diving starts without neck checks. Talk to your GP before diving head first.
Our epilepsy guide explains that the International League Against Epilepsy puts platform and springboard diving in its high-risk group, and that people with epilepsy are 15 to 19 times more likely to drown. Agree diving with your neurologist first and never dive without someone who knows what to do.
Back pain in young elite divers went with spine changes that got worse over 5 years, stress fractures of the spine are common in divers, and painful adolescent wrists more often showed growth-plate injury. Back pain that lasts more than 2 weeks or hurts more when you arch back, and wrist pain or swelling the next day, need a doctor. Our spondylolisthesis and gymnast's wrist guides cover these.
The NHS (National Health Service) says "do not go swimming or get your ear wet until your eardrum heals", and "do not go swimming while you have an ear infection". Wait until it has healed.
Follow Swim England's guidance and the UK guidelines: off at once, a graduated return guided by a medical practitioner, and no competition before day 21. Our concussion guide has the stages.
Diving is a high-risk sport for eating disorders, and eating too little for a diving physique harms health and performance. Under Swim England's policy, under-18s aren't weighed unless they're on a national talent pathway. If eating or weight is worrying you, see your GP; our eating disorders guide explains more.
The NHS advises seeing a GP if you've fainted, and calling 999 if someone faints while exercising; losing consciousness in the water is a drowning risk (our reading). Check with your doctor before you dive.
The NHS says swimming can be good exercise in pregnancy, but advises against sports with a risk of falling or bumping your tummy. Springboard, platform and high diving mean head-first impacts at speed, so swim instead (our suggestion), and talk to your midwife or GP.
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After a dive into shallow water or a hard entry, neck pain, tingling, numbness, weakness or not being able to move the arms or legs mean a possible spinal injury. Don't move them unless they're in danger, call 999 or 112, and keep their head, neck and spine in line until help arrives.
The NHS says to call 999 if someone has hit their head and:
Source 75
If in doubt, sit them out: out of the pool at once and no return that day. Get help from NHS 111 if they're being sick, feel dizzy or take medicine that thins the blood.
Call 999 or go to A&E (accident and emergency) for back pain with pain, tingling, weakness or numbness in both legs, loss of feeling around your genitals or bottom, or changes in your bladder or bowels. Ask for an urgent GP appointment or call 111 for severe pain that starts suddenly or gets worse quickly.
Source 76
Go to A&E or call 999 if an injured wrist is numb, tingling or has pins and needles, has changed colour or shape, or bone can be seen; get help from NHS 111 if it's very painful, swollen or stiff. Go to A&E if you can't move your arm or your shoulder looks out of place, and don't try to put a shoulder back in yourself.
The NHS lists being hit on the ear among the causes of a perforated eardrum: ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 for sudden hearing loss. Whatever the cause, get help from NHS 111 if floaters suddenly appear in your vision, you see flashes of light or a dark shadow moving across your vision, or your vision suddenly blurs.
If they're unresponsive and not breathing, ask a helper to call 999 or 112 while you start CPR, beginning with five rescue breaths, then 30 chest compressions to 2 breaths, and send someone for a defibrillator. After a near-drowning, "Medical advice should be sought, even if they appear well".
From 10 m, divers hit the water at about 50 to 60 km/h; 70 to 85% of Australian national-programme divers were injured each year, and diving had the highest injury rate at the 2009 world championships.
79.3% of Australian divers' injuries happened in training and 2.4% in competition, and studies limited to competitions miss most of them.
Most spinal cord injuries in US pools came from ordinary dives, often on a first visit to that pool, and only 37% of those injured in Quebec had known the risk. Depth decides it, not skill: 89% of diving injuries happened in water under 1.52 m.
In in-ground pools in Quebec, 63% of diving spinal cord injuries came from hitting the slope up from the deep end, and depth was under 1.4 m in half the pool injuries. HSE's guidance cites at least 1.5 m of water with 7.6 m clear ahead even for a shallow dive from the side.
"Water depths can be altered with the tide", and "You can't always see what's under the water". Tombstoning has caused at least 20 deaths and 70 life-changing injuries in the UK in two decades.
Source 21
It's common, but back pain that lasts, or hurts more when you arch back, can be a stress fracture of the spine, which is common in divers. Get it checked.
An expert review calls taping and bracing "only modestly effective", and no trial has tested them (our search).
Source 52
No diving trial exists. In other sports, stretching programmes didn't lower injuries while strength training did; better shoulder flexibility went with less back pain in male juniors, which is an association.
Swim England's policy: under-18s "should not be weighed unless they are on a nationally supported talent pathway", with height the main measure of growth, because diving is a high-risk sport for eating disorders.
Source 13
For competition boards, World Aquatics' minimum depths at the front of the board are 3.40 m for a 1 m springboard, 3.70 m for a 3 m springboard and 4.50 m for a 10 m platform, with 5.00 m preferred, and never under 1.8 m anywhere in the pool. For a shallow dive from the side of a public pool, UK pool guidance cites at least 1.5 m of water with 7.6 m clear ahead. Many home pools are too shallow or too short to dive into safely.
World Aquatics prefers 5.00 m under every board and platform, and new diving pools at its events should be 5 m deep where possible. The minimum under the 10 m platform is 4.50 m. Club pools vary, so ask at yours.
A head-first dive into water that's too shallow, or onto a slope or rock you can't see, drives your head into the bottom with your body's weight behind it and can break your neck. Of 160 people treated for this in northern Germany, two-thirds were completely paralysed on admission and 17% walked again. Most were young men, often at a home pool, a dock or a river, and often after drinking or on a first visit.
Assume a neck injury: don't move them unless they're in danger, call 999 or 112, and keep their head, neck and spine in line. In the water, get their face out and keep them breathing first. If they're unresponsive and not breathing, start CPR.
Lower back, shoulder and wrist injuries are the commonest in competitive divers, and most happen in training, at entry and take-off. In young recreational divers, hitting the board causes many head and face injuries and cuts, especially in backward dives and flips.
Divers arch and twist their backs thousands of times a year, and young elite divers' back pain went with spine changes on scans that got worse over 5 years. Divers with back pain entered the water more arched, and stiffer shoulders went with back pain in male juniors. Back pain that lasts more than 2 weeks, or hurts more when you arch back, should be checked for a stress fracture.
At age-group level in England, about half of training is on dry land: trampolines with spotting rigs, dry boards, somersault boxes and conditioning. Take-offs on dry land differ from the real board, so dry land adds to board work rather than replacing it. Our dryland workout covers jumps, landings, legs, wrists, shoulders and the entry shapes.
At least 14 by 31 December of the year of the Games, a world championship or a World Cup, under World Aquatics' rules. Junior championships have age groups of 14 to 15 and 16 to 18, and senior high divers must be 18.
Cliff and splash divers reported 7.9 injuries per 1,000 hours, 79% on entry and more in practice than in competition. Competitive high divers go in feet first from 20 m or 27 m, must be 18 and approved as safe to compete, and have safety divers and rescue teams. Jumping into the sea from cliffs or piers has caused at least 20 deaths in the UK in two decades.
No: the NHS says not to swim or get your ear wet until a perforated eardrum heals. After a concussion, sit out at once and return gradually with medical guidance, with no competition before day 21 under the UK guidelines.
Exercise education for people who play sport, not a personal prescription or a diagnosis, and clinical review of these pages is pending. Check with a GP or physiotherapist before hard training if you have a heart condition, chest pain, dizziness or an injury that isn't settling, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.
