...not really if in drysuit. When using a heatvest I personally find the front clip on the harness a bit disturbing depending on how I route the cable. Thats (at least for me) the only thing I realized so far....
Tips for staying pain free on long dives, have arthritis in lower back
- Thread starter cathal
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I've had neck surgery once and lumbar surgery twice. So personally I drop out of trim and stretch on longer dives, and try to move around on deco. Depending on the dive this is either easy or a real heartache to do.
I would also work really hard on getting your static trim near perfect and reduce any weight belt to the maximum extent practicable/safe. My single tank belt is pretty heavy and its constantly hyperextending my back, so on OC using doubles, a V-weight, and a smaller belt are a huge help. On my Megaladon I use a DSS steel plate with 8lbs of integrated lead. Getting the lead out/off the small of your back and only the Revo frame itself is worth trying. Keep some ditchable of course but it doesn't have to be 12-14kgs..
I would also work really hard on getting your static trim near perfect and reduce any weight belt to the maximum extent practicable/safe. My single tank belt is pretty heavy and its constantly hyperextending my back, so on OC using doubles, a V-weight, and a smaller belt are a huge help. On my Megaladon I use a DSS steel plate with 8lbs of integrated lead. Getting the lead out/off the small of your back and only the Revo frame itself is worth trying. Keep some ditchable of course but it doesn't have to be 12-14kgs..
Much obliged for your feedback.
"I've had neck surgery once and lumbar surgery twice. So personally I drop out of trim and stretch on longer dives, and try to move around on deco. Depending on the dive this is either easy or a real heartache to do."
My arthritis is in the lower back and I find it is the horizontal position of the back while in trim that causes it to become inflamed.
"I would also work really hard on getting your static trim near perfect and reduce any weight belt to the maximum extent practicable/safe. Getting the lead out/off the small of your back and only the Revo frame itself is worth trying"
This is what I have done with the rEvo so far, all the weight is on the unit, there is none on me. The only progress I've made to date is experimenting with pieces of rubber inserted onto the waist belt to push the lower back down a fraction when in trim. I'll keep you all updated if I come across a solution that works.
Can't help but think there must be a market for adjustable backplates like the adjustable lumbar supports you find in all office chairs.
I think @Eric Sedletzky makes freedom plates. You might be able to work with him to make a nice custom solution. I don't own a freedom plate yet, but they have a strong following.
Have you considered a heater system? Heat is renowned for helping with arthritis and there are a plethora of manufacturers selling suit heating systems these days. DUI, Patco, Golem Gear, UTD, Light Monkey and many more all sell electric suit heaters. They're expensive, but could be a real help. Some of those are intended for drysuits, some for wet.
Normally I would be the last person to suggest dropping one's knees on a dive, but at least for me curling my back as if I were a ball (not the extreme obviously) is a huge relief. The more you move from extension to flexion periodically the better. On hour+ of deco I have managed to do quite a few of these. My longer decos tend to be cave dives so I'm otherwise just sitting there on a rock usually. Flexion Exercises for Low Back Pain | Synergy Health and Wellbing Centre Edensor Park Sydney NSW Australia - Health Care Services in the fields of Chiropractic, Acupuncture, Naturopathy, Reiki, Counselling, and Massage to the wider Fairfield and Liverpool Districts.
On wreck dives dropping your knees once you start hanging midwater is super helpful to me. Have you worked on core strength and stability? Pilates might help.
On wreck dives dropping your knees once you start hanging midwater is super helpful to me. Have you worked on core strength and stability? Pilates might help.
Ok so I have been experimenting with pieces of rubber around the lower backplate. They reduced discomfort by about 5-10%. I'll post a few pics later but its a very crude setup for now until I find the sweetspot. One change that made a big difference was not to tighten my waist strap on the rEvo. I had a habit of sucking in my gut to get the waist strap tight. Last Sunday I left it just closed over and in the water I could really stretch the lower back when it began to get sore. I could really move the knees up towards the opposite shoulder with no difficulty and this brought immediate relief to the lower back pain.
I'll report back in time if I get anything else to work.
I'll report back in time if I get anything else to work.
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RJack321 is the first person that has the right idea. Do flexion and extension movements during the dive to keep the joint moving dynamically.
Do not listen to someone that tells you to do yoga for a back injury without giving specific exercises from experience. Every time I've done yoga it's caused me a great deal of pain. Might I also mention that I'm extremely flexible and the yoga classes I have taken I've by far been the most flexible. I have a failed spinal fusion of my L1-L3 with the bottom screws broken and separated a 1/2" away that also move between flexion and extension. For the last 18 years I've researched everything I could find and tried anything that was mentioned along with what wasn't as well. I went from taking half a pharmacy worth of medication every day to not even an Aspirin in over 10 years. Every body is talking about gear but there isn't anything you can really do with it to make a difference unless you switch to a different system. I can't dive back mount so if I want to get wet I have to use side mount and it's not an option. I also used to dive with ankle weights and people would give me trouble for it but it made a huge difference on how my back felt. So I didn't care as long as I was diving pain free. you can try to put some weight lower towards your ankles or on your fins somehow and it should help take your back be in a more neutral position, as long as you can still maintain trim. If you're going to stick with the Revo there isn't much you can do so the only other option is to improve your health and reduce the arthritis.
Any one thing may not be a solution but if you combine a few things together it should be manageable. It just depends on how bad you want to be pain free and enjoy the things you love without being in misery. I've seen people with arthritis so bad they couldn't walk across a room and within a month they were walking over 2 1/2 miles up and down steep hills in Costa Rica. Most arthritis is inflamed by what we eat. Meat is the primary contributor and red meat is the worst. I started drinking fresh home made juice every day for the last 10 years and now eat a plant based primarily raw food diet. I enjoy what I eat once i learned how to make meals and don't miss the things I used to eat at all. The pain I deal with now is a fraction of what it used to be. It's not completely gone but I can at least go diving where normally I wouldn't be able to get out of bed. I've helped and seen many people be pain free from arthritis eating this way or at least incorporating fresh juice.
the other thing is to do the proper types of exercise for joints and arthritis. stretching is for muscles and tendons but will make arthritis pain worse and aggravate it. Dynamic movement will help the joints warm up and become more flexible while also helping them to become more lubricated. There's a specific DVD by a lady named Maya Fiennes and the specific title is (Detox and Destress). This DVD focuses more on movement back and forth which works the joints and improves flexibility at the same time. Take it easy at first so you don't make it work. Right now your back is like a rusty hinge that your trying break apart into moving freely again. Only do what you feel comfortable with and f there is any discomfort back off to what you can do. I guarantee this specific DVD will help you more than anything else. I've been researching back pain for the last 18 years as a full time job and this has been a godsend. Now I coach people how to live as pain free as possible.
You can mess with your gear all you want but it won't help. Get rid of the arthritis rather than trying to find a work around. I would be happy to help anyone interested in reducing pain and you can send me a private message and I'll do what I can to pass on the information I've learned.
Do not listen to someone that tells you to do yoga for a back injury without giving specific exercises from experience. Every time I've done yoga it's caused me a great deal of pain. Might I also mention that I'm extremely flexible and the yoga classes I have taken I've by far been the most flexible. I have a failed spinal fusion of my L1-L3 with the bottom screws broken and separated a 1/2" away that also move between flexion and extension. For the last 18 years I've researched everything I could find and tried anything that was mentioned along with what wasn't as well. I went from taking half a pharmacy worth of medication every day to not even an Aspirin in over 10 years. Every body is talking about gear but there isn't anything you can really do with it to make a difference unless you switch to a different system. I can't dive back mount so if I want to get wet I have to use side mount and it's not an option. I also used to dive with ankle weights and people would give me trouble for it but it made a huge difference on how my back felt. So I didn't care as long as I was diving pain free. you can try to put some weight lower towards your ankles or on your fins somehow and it should help take your back be in a more neutral position, as long as you can still maintain trim. If you're going to stick with the Revo there isn't much you can do so the only other option is to improve your health and reduce the arthritis.
Any one thing may not be a solution but if you combine a few things together it should be manageable. It just depends on how bad you want to be pain free and enjoy the things you love without being in misery. I've seen people with arthritis so bad they couldn't walk across a room and within a month they were walking over 2 1/2 miles up and down steep hills in Costa Rica. Most arthritis is inflamed by what we eat. Meat is the primary contributor and red meat is the worst. I started drinking fresh home made juice every day for the last 10 years and now eat a plant based primarily raw food diet. I enjoy what I eat once i learned how to make meals and don't miss the things I used to eat at all. The pain I deal with now is a fraction of what it used to be. It's not completely gone but I can at least go diving where normally I wouldn't be able to get out of bed. I've helped and seen many people be pain free from arthritis eating this way or at least incorporating fresh juice.
the other thing is to do the proper types of exercise for joints and arthritis. stretching is for muscles and tendons but will make arthritis pain worse and aggravate it. Dynamic movement will help the joints warm up and become more flexible while also helping them to become more lubricated. There's a specific DVD by a lady named Maya Fiennes and the specific title is (Detox and Destress). This DVD focuses more on movement back and forth which works the joints and improves flexibility at the same time. Take it easy at first so you don't make it work. Right now your back is like a rusty hinge that your trying break apart into moving freely again. Only do what you feel comfortable with and f there is any discomfort back off to what you can do. I guarantee this specific DVD will help you more than anything else. I've been researching back pain for the last 18 years as a full time job and this has been a godsend. Now I coach people how to live as pain free as possible.
You can mess with your gear all you want but it won't help. Get rid of the arthritis rather than trying to find a work around. I would be happy to help anyone interested in reducing pain and you can send me a private message and I'll do what I can to pass on the information I've learned.
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