Proserpine Hospital Emergency Department doctors are warning people not to jump off Cedar Creek Falls after treating three people for spinal fractures in a week.
Senior Medical Officer Dr Hannah Trimble said two people were injured on Sunday and one on Wednesday.
“You wouldn’t jump 10 metres onto concrete, so don’t jump offthe falls,” Dr Trimble said.
“The surface tension of the water means you are landing on a hard surface,” she said.
The experienced doctor who has worked in the Whitsundays since 2009 said people were injured every year at Cedar Creek Falls despite signs warning people had died from jumping.
“There has been at least one death and others paralysed after jumping from the Falls,” she said.
Dr Trimble said most injuries were compression fractures caused by the impact of hitting the water.
“They are stable fractures but can still cause a lot of pain and the person will have back problems for the rest of their life,” she said.
“Often people with compression injuries walk out of the water so other people swimming don’t realise people are being injured. It’s only when the pain sets in and they walk into Emergency they discover they have a serious injury.”
Other injuries from jumping include damage to the perineal area, the soft tissue between the pubic area and tailbone.
“This sensitive area can be bruised or have other trauma inflicted on it because of the impact.
‘We have also seen people with very serious injuries caused by hitting rocks on the way down because they haven’t jumped out far enough as well as from hitting submerged rocks.”
