I've had two back surgeries. The surgeries were discectomy and fusion of c4-7 and later another discectomy and fusion of 2-4. That's where they completely remove the discs between vertebrae and add titanium rods or plates to hold the vertebrae where they are supposed to be. You lose any problems caused by the discs, along with any ability to move that portion of your back. After the first surgery, diving was definitely a near instant pain reliever. Hauling around heavy gear at first was awful, but it helped me build strength in areas that I otherwise wouldn't.
After the second surgery, I can no longer bend my neck enough to maintain proper trim and look forward at the same time. Well, I CAN do it, but it hurts while doing it and for hours or days after the dive. I gave up cave diving, where proper trim is critical, as a result.
However, I did continue with open water diving. After all the effort I went to to make proper trim and buoyancy second nature it's still a manual effort to break trim when I need to look in front of me. You'll often see me diving with my hand in front of my head just in case I missed something
. My point? Some painful back problems require special techniques.
Another, more common special technique is this: Sidemount diving. Especially "single" tank sidemount diving (aka "monkey diving") where you use a regular sized tank on your side instead of mounting it on your back. Alternatively, you could use a couple smaller tanks. I know someone who has done it, but I haven't tried that myself yet.
Sidemount or not, another thing that can help is to put on your tank or the entire BCD once you're in the water. Easy to do if you're shore diving. It requires somewhat calm seas and the cooperation of your boat staff if you're boat diving. If you can get the boat folks to do it, I highly recommend this. It makes diving far easier and more comfortable. I was introduced to this in Cozumel, where one of the boats I was on required everyone to doff before getting on the ladder. It's great, and I wish it would become the standard process worldwide. Might be difficult in rough water, though.
After the second surgery, I can no longer bend my neck enough to maintain proper trim and look forward at the same time. Well, I CAN do it, but it hurts while doing it and for hours or days after the dive. I gave up cave diving, where proper trim is critical, as a result.
However, I did continue with open water diving. After all the effort I went to to make proper trim and buoyancy second nature it's still a manual effort to break trim when I need to look in front of me. You'll often see me diving with my hand in front of my head just in case I missed something
. My point? Some painful back problems require special techniques.Another, more common special technique is this: Sidemount diving. Especially "single" tank sidemount diving (aka "monkey diving") where you use a regular sized tank on your side instead of mounting it on your back. Alternatively, you could use a couple smaller tanks. I know someone who has done it, but I haven't tried that myself yet.
Sidemount or not, another thing that can help is to put on your tank or the entire BCD once you're in the water. Easy to do if you're shore diving. It requires somewhat calm seas and the cooperation of your boat staff if you're boat diving. If you can get the boat folks to do it, I highly recommend this. It makes diving far easier and more comfortable. I was introduced to this in Cozumel, where one of the boats I was on required everyone to doff before getting on the ladder. It's great, and I wish it would become the standard process worldwide. Might be difficult in rough water, though.
