Why do divers call decompression sickness "the bends"?

They bend over: Because when dcs was discovered in the 19th century, the patients suffering from it would arch their backs in pain which resembled a then, popular dance maneuver, the "grecian bend." funny how medical terms originate.

Bends: The term “bends” reportedly originated w men who worked on the brooklyn bridge caissons who stooped due to hip ; leg pain. Their co-workers jokingly referred to their posture as “grecian bend” which was a posture that fashionable women of that era used. In 1894 a surgeon named andrew smith described this. This differs from the grecian bend which was a dance maneuver before the american civil war.