Lower Back Pain

[rlowe]

Hi All,

I went to the lake for a couple of dives on the 4th (7/4). No computer, doing it by the table. We mis-calculated and exceeded the table by a bit. Here is the profile:

Dive 1:
Part 1: Max Depth 35' for 10 minutes. Surfaced for 10 minutes
Part 2: Max Depth: 50'
TBT: 40 minutes
Safty Stop: 5 minutes @ 15'

Dive 2:
SI: 55 minutes
Max depth: 65'
TBT 38 minutes
Safty Stop: 5 minutes @ 15

Man, my back hurts way down low around my hip. Began to hurt that afternoon. I called DAN today 7/6 and spoke with a doctor. He concluded that it was more than likely not DCS.

Here are the symptoms:
Lower back pain, particularly stiff in the morning. Certain movements such as bending at the waist increase the pain. I have a little numbness in the very tips of my ring and pinky finger on my right hand. This is something I have had on and off most of my life.

I had a long, active weekend. Boating on Friday including tubing and a nasty wipeout. Rest on Saturday, diving on Saturday and a nice little walk down a rocky hill and back up with gear, boating on Sunday sans tubing. My back still hurts, particularly when I lift my daughter. I guess I am still a little concerned. Your mind has a way of magnifying aches and pains when something like this happens.

Lessons: I am shopping for a computer. I am planning my dives more thoroughly.

Randy.

 

[RichLockyer]

One of the most important things as we get older is to make sure that we know what hurt BEFORE the dive, so we don't get worked up over it when it hurts after the dive.

That said, you were smart to call DAN, as lower back pain is a symptom.

According to V-Planner, you were on the edge. Your 5-minute safety stop on the second dive showed as a mandatory deco stop, but given that, you were only shy by 20 seconds. For programming purposes, I ignored your safety stop on the 1st dive... I programmed it as three square-profile dives, 35ft for 10, 10si, 50 for 39, 55si, and 65 for 38.

If your TOTAL runtime on the 2nd and 3rd dives were 39 and 38, including your safety stops, then there's no reason to believe that you would be bent, lacking other symptoms.

If I shorten the 2nd and 3rd dives by 5 minutes and add that time back in at 15ft, then you are clear. This is on a +2 conservatism. If I push that to +4 (most conservative), then it wants a 7-minute stop on the last dive (leaving you 2 minutes short).

Of course, this program was not written for shallow air dives and can give some funky results, but assuming that you were not diving purely square profiles, I'd think that you're probably just sore from a very active weekend.

 

[Doc Intrepid]

The nasty wipeout could have done it. Did you lift your tanks out of the trunk or backseat of a car? Did you do the hump down the hill and back up in steel doubles? Actually you could have strained your back with the tubing accident then aggravated the condition by hiking down and back up the hill in your gear. Could have been any number of things that caused your backache, including loading and unloading all your scuba gear.

One of the things you can do as a preventative regimen is to do stretching regularly. I'm not an expert by any means, but there are some on this board and I expect you might hear from them. Meanwhile, you can do some reading at this site:

www.divefitness.com

Diving can be a fairly active sport, and when you combine it with boating, tubing, lifting and loading, etc, can be hard on the body. A habit of regular stretching can go a long way towards strengthening your lower back and keeping your aches and pains to a minimum.

And you don't need a computer. Instead you need to plan your dive more carefully, which you already noted, and then pay closer attention to diving your plan. Its your situational awareness underwater that allows you to track elapsed time, which is a learned skill that must be developed, not an intuitive or instinctual skill you're born with, that keeps you safe. Not the beeping of a computer. Learn how to plan your dive and dive your plan first. The computer can come later.

Regards,

Doc

 

[rlowe]

Thanks for the quick responses!

I did do the hump down the hill and back up with a single steel twice. I thought it might have been the tubing, however it is odd that I did not feel the stiffness untill 24 hours after the tube ride.

I will monitor the pain and pay close attention. Should I look for any symptoms moving forward, or just assume it is indeed sore muscles? I have a flight on Saturday, and would like to dive soon!

Thanks
Randy

 

[Doc Intrepid]

If the medicos ruled out DCS then treat it as a sports injury, like a burly hit while playing football. Ice packs, hot soaks, take it easy, give the muscles some time, then start out with some stretches and bends before any real loading. I'd give it some time before stressing the same muscles in case you strained or tore something. Meanwhile, as noted, there are other things you can be doing to try to prevent the same thing from happening again.

 

[CameronMartz]

Randy,

Back pain that is worse in the morning is a classic symptom of a disc injury. As you sleep, your back "decompresses," with each disc filling back up with fluid. This causes a damaged disc to push more on the involved nerve, causing pain.

Throughout the day, especially with walking, your bodyweight compresses all of the discs in your back, making them smaller. This then reduces the pressure of the offending disc on the nerve, which makes you feel better.

"Treat Your Own Back," by Robin A. McKenzie, is great resource for how to deal with back pain. All back pain like you describe should be treated as a disc injury- whether it is actually disc or muscle damage, it will still improve with the same techniques. You can find this book for $10 at Amazon, http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...102-6193033-3412126?v=glance&s=books&n=507846 .

This book includes information to help you triage yourself. Obviously, if you are concerned or in a lot of pain, you should go directly to a spine specialist or McKenzie Certified Therapist for a diagnosis and treatment plan. You can find a CMT near you by searching the database at http://www.mckenziemdt.org/ .

In the meantime, avoid any forward bending and prolonged sitting (get up and walk a little every 30 minutes if you have a desk job).

Cameron

 

[BlueDevil]

As a long term sufferer of back pain I would have to agree with Cameron that your symptoms sound like a disc problem. I would also endorse his recomendation for Mckenzie therapy. I have tried numerous forms of treatment over many years, but the McKenzie method seems to have done the most good. Correct management and advice early on may save you from further problems down the track.

 

[rlowe]

Thanks to all for the great information.

My back has made much improvement. I spent some evenings on the heating pad and I have very little pain left. I think I will add some excersises to help my back in the gym.

Randy

 

[alemaozinho]

Hi All,

I went to the lake for a couple of dives on the 4th (7/4). No computer, doing it by the table. We mis-calculated and exceeded the table by a bit. Here is the profile:

Dive 1:
Part 1: Max Depth 35' for 10 minutes. Surfaced for 10 minutes
Part 2: Max Depth: 50'
TBT: 40 minutes
Safty Stop: 5 minutes @ 15'

Dive 2:
SI: 55 minutes
Max depth: 65'
TBT 38 minutes
Safty Stop: 5 minutes @ 15

Man, my back hurts way down low around my hip. Began to hurt that afternoon. I called DAN today 7/6 and spoke with a doctor. He concluded that it was more than likely not DCS.

Here are the symptoms:
Lower back pain, particularly stiff in the morning. Certain movements such as bending at the waist increase the pain. I have a little numbness in the very tips of my ring and pinky finger on my right hand. This is something I have had on and off most of my life.

I had a long, active weekend. Boating on Friday including tubing and a nasty wipeout. Rest on Saturday, diving on Saturday and a nice little walk down a rocky hill and back up with gear, boating on Sunday sans tubing. My back still hurts, particularly when I lift my daughter. I guess I am still a little concerned. Your mind has a way of magnifying aches and pains when something like this happens.

Lessons: I am shopping for a computer. I am planning my dives more thoroughly.

Randy.

try to do abdominal workouts like crunches and leg rises and you,ll see what wonder they can do for you.

 

[RichLockyer]

Absolutely. Check out Cameron Martz's site, http://www.divefitness.com and look over some of his programs... especially the stretching routines.
Good solid advice there.