This story could have been published in several areas of this Forum, but I've placed it here in the hopes of reaching the most divers possible. In almost 40 years of diving, I've never heard of this type of injury occurring when performing the bread-and-butter entry known as the "Giant Stride."
A few years back I had a class of Divemaster candidates participating in their final series of dives aboard a charter on the St. Lawrence River. It was late Spring & the river at this time of year is moving along at a decent clip. The 1st dive was on the wreck of the "Daryaw." This dive is challenging for several reasons, including the fact that the wreck is wedged at a point where the river narrows, thus the velocity of the water increases significantly. The DMC responsible for this dive had submitted his dive plan to me, & I had approved it. The plan called for a giant stride entry off the stern - one had to distance themselves from the stern as much as possible, then quickly move left & grab the shot line to the wreck before the current swept you back to the stern of the dive boat. Candidates were then to pull themselves down to the wreck. Once on the wreck ( actually "under" it as it rests upside down ), divers get a reprieve from the current as the wreck tends to shelter you from it. All candidates made the dive successfully & we all gathered for the debriefing. One candidate, 57 years young, complained that he had "bumped his lower leg" on the ladder when entering, that the leg was sore but manageable, and he was fine to continue on for the remainder of the days dives. The days training was completed without any further incident. In the following weeks he reported his "deep muscle tissue bruise" to be slow to heal. I do not recall if he consulted a physician or not, though I don't believe he did.
Fast forward to this past Fall, & my friend is now doing some relaxing diving in Jamaica. Another giant stride off a dive boat and "OUCH!" - another sore calf muscle! This time it was the other leg! This time my friend was certain his leg did not contact the ladder. The pain was considerably less this time, & he continued his dive vacation with minor pain in his calf area.
So my friend, being the inquisitive type, gets home & goes online to investigate the issue, and this is what he finds:
"Tennis Leg":
Tennis leg is a musculotendinous junction rupture: a stretch, tear, or complete rupture of the connection between the gastrocnemius (calf) muscle and the Achilles tendon. Tennis and soccer players over 40 are the most frequent sufferers. The injury often occurs when lunging or pushing off one leg to get to a wide ball or serve. It feels like being kicked in the leg from behind: the tennis leg sufferer feels an instantaneous severe sharp pain, turns around to see who kicked them, only to discover that no one is there. Note: “Tennis Leg” is an informal term that is sometimes applied to stretches, tears, or ruptures of the calf itself, rather than to the Achilles-gastrocnemius junction."
On both dives my friend aggressively "pushed off" with his following leg when making the entry, despite knowing full well that one is supposed to "step off" into the water when performing this entry. In his case, it appears his aging tissues could not stand the strain placed upon them during these entries, & he suffered tissue injury each time. He thinks the 1st injury was worse due to climbing back aboard the boat in heavy, cold-water gear & fighting the surface current. It now appears certain that he did not, in fact, contact the ladder on his first dive, and that he likely did suffer the cursed "Tennis Leg" syndrome.
My friend is off to see his doctor now in the hopes of getting some definitive answers to exactly what happened to him & to have testing done to determine the extent of damage, the progress of healing, & some advice on how to prevent recurrence.
There are lessons here for all of us:
> If you suffer an injury - see a Dr. a.s.a.p. - do not self-diagnose!
> Stay fit! Stretch! Keep your musculature & cardiovasculature primed for diving ( especially good advice for older divers! ).
I'm hoping to hear from some of our medical mods. on this one - please chime in!
Yours in safe diving,
DSD
A few years back I had a class of Divemaster candidates participating in their final series of dives aboard a charter on the St. Lawrence River. It was late Spring & the river at this time of year is moving along at a decent clip. The 1st dive was on the wreck of the "Daryaw." This dive is challenging for several reasons, including the fact that the wreck is wedged at a point where the river narrows, thus the velocity of the water increases significantly. The DMC responsible for this dive had submitted his dive plan to me, & I had approved it. The plan called for a giant stride entry off the stern - one had to distance themselves from the stern as much as possible, then quickly move left & grab the shot line to the wreck before the current swept you back to the stern of the dive boat. Candidates were then to pull themselves down to the wreck. Once on the wreck ( actually "under" it as it rests upside down ), divers get a reprieve from the current as the wreck tends to shelter you from it. All candidates made the dive successfully & we all gathered for the debriefing. One candidate, 57 years young, complained that he had "bumped his lower leg" on the ladder when entering, that the leg was sore but manageable, and he was fine to continue on for the remainder of the days dives. The days training was completed without any further incident. In the following weeks he reported his "deep muscle tissue bruise" to be slow to heal. I do not recall if he consulted a physician or not, though I don't believe he did.
Fast forward to this past Fall, & my friend is now doing some relaxing diving in Jamaica. Another giant stride off a dive boat and "OUCH!" - another sore calf muscle! This time it was the other leg! This time my friend was certain his leg did not contact the ladder. The pain was considerably less this time, & he continued his dive vacation with minor pain in his calf area.
So my friend, being the inquisitive type, gets home & goes online to investigate the issue, and this is what he finds:
"Tennis Leg":
Tennis leg is a musculotendinous junction rupture: a stretch, tear, or complete rupture of the connection between the gastrocnemius (calf) muscle and the Achilles tendon. Tennis and soccer players over 40 are the most frequent sufferers. The injury often occurs when lunging or pushing off one leg to get to a wide ball or serve. It feels like being kicked in the leg from behind: the tennis leg sufferer feels an instantaneous severe sharp pain, turns around to see who kicked them, only to discover that no one is there. Note: “Tennis Leg” is an informal term that is sometimes applied to stretches, tears, or ruptures of the calf itself, rather than to the Achilles-gastrocnemius junction."
On both dives my friend aggressively "pushed off" with his following leg when making the entry, despite knowing full well that one is supposed to "step off" into the water when performing this entry. In his case, it appears his aging tissues could not stand the strain placed upon them during these entries, & he suffered tissue injury each time. He thinks the 1st injury was worse due to climbing back aboard the boat in heavy, cold-water gear & fighting the surface current. It now appears certain that he did not, in fact, contact the ladder on his first dive, and that he likely did suffer the cursed "Tennis Leg" syndrome.
My friend is off to see his doctor now in the hopes of getting some definitive answers to exactly what happened to him & to have testing done to determine the extent of damage, the progress of healing, & some advice on how to prevent recurrence.
There are lessons here for all of us:
> If you suffer an injury - see a Dr. a.s.a.p. - do not self-diagnose!
> Stay fit! Stretch! Keep your musculature & cardiovasculature primed for diving ( especially good advice for older divers! ).
I'm hoping to hear from some of our medical mods. on this one - please chime in!
Yours in safe diving,
DSD
