Seriously, cross your legs on Disney World water slides — it could save you from vaginal laceration

• A woman is suing Disney World, alleging their Humunga Kowabunga slide led to  vaginal lacerations.
• Water slide users are supposed to cross their legs while riding to prevent injury on some rides.
• If they don't, high speeds can cause water to cut up the vagina's delicate tissue, an OB-GYN said.

Careening down a water slide can be an exhilarating experience for some. But it can also be riddled with the risk of serious or permanent injury, as evidenced by a woman's lawsuit against Disney World.

In legal documents obtained by Insider, the woman, named Emma McGuinness, alleged that she suffered "permanent bodily injury," including vaginal lacerations, or cuts inside her vagina that caused heavy bleeding, after riding the park's 214-foot-long Humunga Kowabunga slide. McGuinness also alleged that she suffered a hernia, where her bowels protruded "through her abdominal wall."

According to the lawsuit, McGuinness could have walked away from the slide injury-free if Disney told her and others to follow certain safety protocols, like wearing protective clothing and explaining the purpose of certain guidelines, like being told to cross their legs at their ankles while riding.

The lawsuit alleges that McGuinness was made aware of this ankle-crossing protocol, but not how important it was for her safety when she rode the slide in 2019.

Vaginal injuries from water slides are rare but can be serious

Genital injuries from water slides are rare and can range from minor to very serious, OB-GYN Carolyn DeLucia told Insider.

"Vaginal lacerations can vary, from something like a paper cut to the severity of an episiotomy or a tear of equal depth," said DeLucia, who was a recent guest on the new women's sexual health podcast Cliterology.

There's been a handful of documented cases alleging vaginal injuries similar to those McGuinness says she sustained, starting with one in 1998 where the patient needed surgery to recover from her vaginal lacerations.

Since then, at least a dozen case reports from locales including Jamaica, Australia, and Spain say that water slide users have suffered tears to their vaginal tissue or muscles as a result of pressurized water on the rides.

How to prevent a permanent water-slide injury

Crossing one's legs is meant to prevent water from rushing up the vaginal canal and damaging the delicate tissue inside.

Indeed, various water park websites have outlined this protocol in their safety guides. The Red Cross also highlights the importance of crossing your legs while on water slides, saying that a rider can reach a speed of 30 miles per hour or more.

"The water acts like a surgical knife and cuts open the walls of the vagina. These injuries are rare, but they happen and can be devastating," OB-GYN Dr. Mary Claire Haver told USA Today. The same thing can happen during an activity like water skiing, as one 2018 case report documented.

Keeping your legs crossed can also stop water from pushing loose clothing into a "wedgie," another potential cause of injuries such as abrasions, hematomas, or cuts to the genitals, DeLucia said. But she said that regardless of following protocols, riding a water slide always comes with risks for injury, for women and men.

While painful genital injuries may heal on their own if they're minor, a more extreme injury could lead to infection or genital dysfunction, like trouble having orgasms, said DeLucia. If someone's genitals don't stop bleeding after 10 minutes while pressure it applied, it's a sign they should seek medical care right away, she said.

Disney World has not yet responded to Insider's request for comment.