Long term effects of recreational diving....scientific data?

[krawlings]

:ar15:Was he talking about frequent diving or marijuana use. Sounds like the end game is the same, better keep it on the low down or some group out there will soon make the correlation and our sport/passion will become illegal. I can already see outlaw gangs of divers meeting discreatly (sp) in out of the way dive sites to get their fixes. Bootleggers will be transporting tanks of compressed gasses from contraband compressor ownwers. If you think helium is costly now, just wait and see.

We will just have to move to Calorado then ( they are in the process of making marijuana Legal there) so diving would fall in to that category .

 

[Dr Deco]

Hello All:

I have heard both positive and negative findings. The effects seem small at best. Doc V. has the best perspective on this topic. Few recreational divers display obvious mental difficulties, the same is true for professional deep divers.

 

[boulderjohn]

We will just have to move to Calorado then ( they are in the process of making marijuana Legal there) so diving would fall in to that category .

Here in Colorado marijuana is legal if you have a doctor's prescription for it. Most medical marijuana suppliers can put you in touch with a doctor who will provide that prescription for a variety of ailments, including a compulsive urge to part with the $35 fee for the prescription. It is already legal in Denver, which matters not at all, since the Federal government says it is not legal and will enforce the federal law in spite of any state rules.

 

[3D diver]

I vaguely recall reading this sort of thing before...but after 31 years of diving it's hard to remember...

Could be age...could be diving...

FWIW: I just got a bonus for two new patent applications, so there are still a few brain cells functioning.

 

[danvolker]

So many correlations possible with this, the whole idea is ridiculoous..... Imagine other obvious correlations:
Dive charter boats tend to have Coke or Pepsi for divers to drink, and divers tend to eat sugary cheap foods/snacks on dive boats... Recent Science is showing conclusively that high Sugar consumption will impair brain functions along with many other problems it will create. Let's just say that too much sugar makes you stupid ( more stupid than you would be otherwise).

So....since divers will typically be drinking high sugar drinks, the longer they are involved in diving, the more impaired their brain functions are likely to become..... Did the diving cause this? Obviously not...the sugar being the more likely culprit.... but "studies" like mentioned by OP are notorious for ridiculous conclusions.

See:

 

[Mike]

Why would anybody think that diving wouldn't have long term detrimental effects on the human body?

The human body ages and aging is a direct effect of the wear and tear you place on your body. A skier develops knee problems due to the long term effects of repeated compressions on the knees, a boxer develops issues due to repeated blows to the head, a foot ball player develops back and neck issues due to repeated exposure to excessive stress on the body, an olympic gymnist develops pre-mature signs of aging due to the large stresses placed on a pre-adolescent body due to how young they start, a runner develops feet problems due to a life-time of repeated compressions to the ankles and arch of the foot...

why wouldn't you think that repeated exposures to pressures due to diving that the rest of the human population doesn't receive wouldn't have a long term effect on the human body???

Of course it does, everything you do effects the aging process, if it didn't humans would live to 1000 years old and their bodies would feel the same at 300 years old as they did at 20 years old.

 

[danvolker]

Why would anybody think that diving wouldn't have long term detrimental effects on the human body?

The human body ages and aging is a direct effect of the wear and tear you place on your body. A skier develops knee problems due to the long term effects of repeated compressions on the knees, a boxer develops issues due to repeated blows to the head, a foot ball player develops back and neck issues due to repeated exposure to excessive stress on the body, an olympic gymnist develops pre-mature signs of aging due to the large stresses placed on a pre-adolescent body due to how young they start, a runner develops feet problems due to a life-time of repeated compressions to the ankles and arch of the foot...

why wouldn't you think that repeated exposures to pressures due to diving that the rest of the human population doesn't receive wouldn't have a long term effect on the human body???

Of course it does, everything you do effects the aging process, if it didn't humans would live to 1000 years old and their bodies would feel the same at 300 years old as they did at 20 years old.

To be honest, I can't tell if you are half joking, or serious. Since it looks more like you are serious, I would say that there are sports that are not health and long life sports ( basketball, gymnastics, boxing etc) due to stresses these sports put on us that we are not evolved to handle without some form of long term damage over many years.

Other sports, like reasonable distance hiking, or cycling if done properly, or swimming if done intelligently...can extend the high functioning lifespan of a person.... Cyclists in their mid 70's to 80's are often walking around with better posture and better fitness than couch potatoes that are 40 years old( and who never had an over-use injury in their life )

The "right" sports will enhance blood flow throughout the body, and prevent the muscle atrophy that you see in many old people that have not engaged in a fitness sport for many decades. Better brain function and better hormone and immune potentials are also a perk from engaging in the "right sports"... Again, things like cycling, but with the bike fit to rider properly, and without extreme distance riding ( the 100 mile a day crowd is damaging themselves) ..things like hiking and swimming, can be easily shown to have extreme health and longevity benefits.

Diving Was great to Frank Hammett, a strong diver into his 70's.....Also to Dr Ray MaCallister, who was a diving legend himself, diving into his 70's at least.

I think there are certain sports that are just bad for you. I would never advise anyone to go into gymnastics--look at the stats for gymnists that have major physical problems the rest of their lives...Or, each of us knows many basketball players, and how many of these have knee problems?
High impact sports can't be good for you for life....Some people have chosen wisely, some have not. Some got lucky

 

[Mike]

A sport that is 'good' for you as you suggested is based on being good for you because it is exercise, it is burning fat and producing muscle while reducing fat cells, basically creating a healthy body in regard to fat/muscle ratios. It's exercise.

However, it being good for you in that way does not eliminate the damage it does to the body in the process. Any repetitive motion damages the body eventually. We age, age is the result of damage and wearing out.

That's all I'll say. If people are shocked that exposing the human body to physical hardship of pressure over and over again has no ill effects on the body, then I don't know what to tell you, you're simply naive and overlooking the very basic nature of how the body reacts and why we age and eventually die from worn out parts. The human body operates in a tiny window of temperature, atmospheric pressure etc... outside of those narrow windows you're stressing the body on a cellular level in a way it currently has not adapted to be treated.

Study something as non physically manifested as stress or depression and it's negative effects on the body, the diseases and destruction it causes over the long term and you'll soon begin understanding how small of a window of conditions the human body tolerates and operates in.

There was a time when we didn't think radiation effected the body, didn't understand UV rays from the sun could negatively effect the body, we now even understand how chemicals absorbed by the plants and meats we eat can effect the body. The lesson is that the human body operates within a tiny window or requirements and any changes to these have an effect on us.

It's absolutely no shock to me that pressure over the long-term of diving causes physical harm to the human body.

 

[farsidefan1]

Definitive side effect of diving. I walk around with a smile on my face in the middle of snow storms thinking about my next dive trip.

 

[Wolfie]

Other sports, like reasonable distance hiking, or cycling if done properly, or swimming if done intelligently...can extend the high functioning lifespan of a person.... Cyclists in their mid 70's to 80's are often walking around with better posture and better fitness than couch potatoes that are 40 years old( and who never had an over-use injury in their life

Lance seems to be under a little pressure lately.:shocked2:

Perhaps, he didn't do it properly