Neck pain from diving

[billt4sf]

I thought about posting this in diving Medicine, but I thought it might be of general interest.

Basically I get neck pain during and after almost every dive at this point. I took two days off diving on the current trip I'm on, and the pain has gone away almost entirely, but I don't really want to sit around and not dive in Raja Ampat! I have noticed that my neck has a smaller range of motion than, say, 5 years ago. (I'm 65.)

The pain is sporadic. I can dive for 20 minutes no problem, then ouch. It just feels very stiff and hurts, but not in one specific spot. Similarly, topside I can sit or walk for quite some time with no issue then ouch! In recent years I have been diving with much more attention to horizontal trim, and I have learned over the years to make an effort to keep my shoulders back instead of just bending my neck. I am tall, and am one of those people who have always had bad posture, people comment about it to me.

I have learned a motion of rotating my shoulders up and back, to expand the chest cavity and relax that area. That helps when the pain comes on. I've had massages with varying results -- sometimes it seems worse after a massage.

Anyway thanks for any suggestions.

Bill

 

[KeithG]

of this issue is nerve related it may be hard to diagnose properly, so I suggest you devote some time to it.

I also get pains triggered by diving, and a few other random physical activities. Since it occurred fairly randomly and the pain was not always specific, it took years to fully diagnose the problem. The problem is in my neck, but the symptoms manifest in other places.

I have bone spurs in my neck which pinch nerves in my neck which causes various pains in my right arm. The pain symptoms may occur immediately (like after a hard hit at hockey) or take several days to show up (like when diving).

I control the situation using biweekly chiropractic adjustments and neck stretching exercises at home. Every few months I also buy a few physio sessions. In my area the hospital system will not deal with the bone spurs except by either fusing a few vertebras or prescribing pain blockers.

 

[OMANDIVER]

I thought about posting this in diving Medicine, but I thought it might be of general interest.

Basically I get neck pain during and after almost every dive at this point. I took two days off diving on the current trip I'm on, and the pain has gone away almost entirely, but I don't really want to sit around and not dive in Raja Ampat! I have noticed that my neck has a smaller range of motion than, say, 5 years ago. (I'm 65.)

The pain is sporadic. I can dive for 20 minutes no problem, then ouch. It just feels very stiff and hurts, but not in one specific spot. Similarly, topside I can sit or walk for quite some time with no issue then ouch! In recent years I have been diving with much more attention to horizontal trim, and I have learned over the years to make an effort to keep my shoulders back instead of just bending my neck. I am tall, and am one of those people who have always had bad posture, people comment about it to me.

I have learned a motion of rotating my shoulders up and back, to expand the chest cavity and relax that area. That helps when the pain comes on. I've had massages with varying results -- sometimes it seems worse after a massage.

Anyway thanks for any suggestions.

Bill

my doc says what do you expect at your age! Seriously arch the back a bit, thrust the pelvis, clench the glutes and your neck wont be so strained. Your back may feel a little tired.

 

[sealark]

Been diving a Looooog time always get that neck pain from being horizontal and looking up. 15 years ago I had neck surjery to fuse two discs together because of my arms going to sleep when laying down trying to sleep, move the arms around and sleep on back stopped it. I still dive and it is starting to come back. Go get an MRI and if possible have the Andrews institute do the surgery they deal with this kind of injury all the time. Recovery from mine was minimal not much pain. A neck brace for a couple days.

 

[diver0008]

Look down and side to side. Not up. Get vertical to look straight at something.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

I have neck issues as well. I know there are many fanatics about perfect trim (on this forum), but if you avoid diving horizontal and maintain a more heads up profile, then you don't have to crank your neck up to see where you are going. We don't walk around with our bodies vertical and looking straight up!

Another issue is making sure your neck muscles are warm. unless the water is hot, I am normally wearing a hood. a loose fitting 2 mm hood is very comfortable and provides enough warmth in many situations.

 

[mi000ke]

I had/have the same problem due to cervical spondylosis, pinched nerves, and other degenerative neck issues - and was even a candidate for a laminectomy. Based on the recommendation of my PT, I use one of these every morning - three 2-minute sessions. (actually she recommended using it before bed, but it fits my exercise schedule better to do it in the morning) And I sleep with a cervical collar. Seems to have mitigated the issue, as I went from constant pain and numbness to essentially none the past couple of years, even after a long day of diving.

Saunders Cervical Hometrac Traction Device

 

[Neilwood]

I have neck issues as well. I know there are many fanatics about perfect trim (on this forum), but if you avoid diving horizontal and maintain a more heads up profile, then you don't have to crank your neck up to see where you are going. We don't walk around with our bodies vertical and looking straight up!

Another issue is making sure your neck muscles are warm. unless the water is hot, I am normally wearing a hood. a loose fitting 2 mm hood is very comfortable and provides enough warmth in many situations.

Agree - while "perfect" horizontal trim might be a goal for a lot of people it is not the answer for everyone.

One thing to find out would be to check if it is muscle or nerve. Muscle would be easier to address as it might simply be a case of keeping the area warm. As DD suggests, using a hood (or possibly cutting a hood down to make a collar if wearing a hood is not desirable) might keep your neck muscles warm enough to prevent issues.

I would deliberately trim myself for a slightly foot low position for a couple of dives to see if that does make a difference.

 

[mattia_v]

If it's muscular rather than nerve impingement related, strengthening your torso/back musculature can help a lot. Yoga if you want lower impact, or guided weight training with someone who can keep things balanced out. I used to slouch quite badly, but some back/upper body weight training has straightened me out considerably. When you have an excessive kyphosis (hunch in upper back), your neck is already overextended to simply look forward, so looking up is additional strain. Straightening yourself out is almost always a question of muscle strength, and will shift your head/neck position towards neutral.

 

[Dan]

Welcome to my world. Getting old is not for sissy as my old buddy used to say.

Pain in the neck is inevitable. Imagine walking & looking to the sky for an hour. Wouldn't you get a pain in the neck? Basically that's what you do when you are swimming (finning) in horizontal position. I would do that probably only 25% of the time, when I need to go from one place to another. The rest of my underwater body posture would be 45 degree, vertical or somewhere in between while keeping my neck in neutral position as much as possible.