Diving with rotator cuff injury?

[Paula Grey]

My husband and I have a dive trip planned in February, but I have torn my rotator cuff and have very limited ROM in my left shoulder. I am very concerned that we will get there and I won’t be able to get my wetsuit or gear on, or maybe have some other problem I haven’t thought about. I do think I will be able to manage underwater just fine because we only shore dive and we will choose calmer dives, but I am a bit worried about currents, swimming out, swimming in, etc. Have any of you tried diving with a torn rotator cuff? Am I crazy for even considering it? Should we cancel the trip and do a non-diving vacation instead?

 

[msinc]

On one hand, if you are aware of the injury and it's limitations and are comfortable to take care and act accordingly you should be okay as long as you are careful...on the other hand, there could be some event that takes place to cause you to possibly do more damage and have to suffer more pain. Only you can say whether or not you could/should take the chance/risk. Maybe before the trip and closer to it {allowing some time to heal a little more} you can go to a local pool and try a few pool dives prior to making the final decision to drop it or go. You might be surprised.
I once had a rotater injury and while I am in no hurry to get another one, about the only thing it really limited was drawing a bow. If I moved wrong it would let me know, but I had to do a little more than just move wrong to get it thumping.
One thing to try if you don't already, and this is simple and stupid...when getting into and out of your bc unhook your injury side shoulder strap so you don't have to lift your arm way back and up to do it. The quick snaps are there just for this, but nobody much uses them. My shoulder has long been repaired and I am fine now, but I fell in love with doing it this way when I first saw it done. One of those "why didn't I think of that on dive one???" things. Good luck.

 

[tursiops]

I tore 3 of my 4 RC muscles in October 2016. Tried a shore-diving trip in later October, and a boat-diving trip. It was nearly impossible to carry my camera in and out of the water, and climbing the ladder was difficult. I had to take off my BCD and weights and climb up one-armed. Surgery was in January 2017, followed (after 6 weeks of sleeping sitting up) by PT and daily workouts at home or in a gym. First dive trip after that was June; better than before the surgery, but still not good enough. Much more PT, much stretching/weights work at home, next trip was August; much better. More PT, more work at home, next trip was a month in Indonesia. Very few problems. Now at 10 months post-surgery, still doing some PT and alternate-day workouts at home. Have full range of motion, maybe 50-60% strength back. Long year! Would I do it again? Yes, absolutely. And I'd be even more disciplined about doing my exercises at home.

 

[100days-a-year]

Mine are mostly scar tissue by now after several repairs.Painful to even get my right arm above shoulder level.
I dive all the time now and dove when they got re-injured,just need help in some instances.

 

[grf88]

My experience was almost identical to tursiops including sitting up to sleep for a couple of months. I was able to do a warm water dive trip 6 months after surgery but needed help with my gear. Tried a cold water dive 2 months after that but realized that I needed longer. After much physio I had almost full motion back after a year and after 3 years I probably have 90% strength back and only minimal discomfort. Yes it does take a long time to recover especially when you tear it in your late 60's. I don't think I would have been safe diving prior to my surgery and know I would have been in significant discomfort but I guess it depends o the severity of the injury

 

[cneal]

I had two small tears in my right shoulder rotator cuff which created range of motion problems which were treated by PT. I have full range of motion but have to watch overloading the bad shoulder.

On getting geared up, learn to put the bad shoulder into gear first. Both wetsuit and BC. Putting the other arm in the BC can be helped by grabbing the sternum strap to pull the shoulder strap into position which reduces the needed range of motion. On grabbing the ladder, just reach higher with the good arm and as high as you can with the bad.

If you have heavy items like a full DSLR camera rig, I suggest getting a luggage strap to use carrying to the boat. I attach my strap to the carry handle and when using the shoulder strap I keep a hand on the handle.

 

[Steve_C]

I have dove with a rotator cuff issue for several years in the left shoulder. No pain when level but limited range of motion. In the water it does not matter. Note that I do air dumps with gentle tugs on the inflator hose so I do not lift the hose up high like you are taught in open water. Never have done that since class. I computerise my assents and computer is on left hand. With scuba all the swimming is done with the legs so it has no affect on swimming. I accept some help putting BCD on if a crew is around. Otherwise I can do it with some effort. I tip the crew. I find it does not affect climbing up into the boat, at least in my case. For shore dives it should be easier You may find if doing sore dives that life is easier if you can set up on a park bench or back of a pickup or the like. For me anyway no assistance is then needed.

On boats and with buddies I do let them know before the dive.

 

[Paula Grey]

Thank you all for sharing your experiences. I feel better knowing you all have successfully been diving with a RTC injury. My husband is my dive buddy and it is always just him and I diving together (not with a group). He is well aware of my concerns and he will help as much as possible. I didn’t think of the air dumping issue, and I have never tried gentle tugs on the inflator hose. Do you have any tips for dumping air this way? Also, I wonder if I could just do it with my right arm?

 

[Steve_C]

I didn’t think of the air dumping issue, and I have never tried gentle tugs on the inflator hose. Do you have any tips for dumping air this way? Also, I wonder if I could just do it with my right arm?

Yes you can do it with the right. But I often carry a camera in my right so I use my left. It also has the advantage that if you are horizontal you can add a bit of air or release a bit of air without leaving trim and with very little arm movement. On my BCD I can do a complete dumb if I wanted to while horizontal. On some rental BCDs I need to adjust my trim up a bit to fully dump. Depends on where the releif valve is when you are in trim.

 

[Jayfarmlaw]

Not sure where you are going, or what equipment you will be using, but I have a wrecked shoulder as well. As noted above, quick releases on your BCD/harness are nice. For boat diving, your operator makes a difference as well. In Cozumel, "valet" diving is the standard. Your equipment is set up for your, they help you gear up, most boats are backroll entry so you never have the weight of your gear on your shoulder, and most exits after taking your gear off in the water and they lift it into the boat for you.

When I shore dive, (oklahoma muck style)my harness does a good job of distributing the weight for a walk. I worry about my knee more than my shoulder if I have to walk a "path of doom"

I've never been on a dive boat...ever...that any help that was needed was readily offered by either other divers or crew. I think the key will be to recognize your limitation, work that into your evaluation of any dive, and communicate with those around you and any op in advance that you might need some help. Advil is your friend....

Isnt getting old fun???

Good luck,
Jay