Article: Diving with Stevie Wonder (My Thoughts on Narcosis)

[Chatterton]

You can view the page at http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/content.php?r=604-Diving-with-Stevie-Wonder

 

[Freshie1234]

This is an interesting post, and I like the element about carbon dioxide narcosis. However, I question whether it is more efficient to use your arms for propulsion. Last time I checked, your legs have fins, this means that you can make SMALL movements with them, and have a greater effect. Lets not forget that there are many different methods and ways to move your legs, and not all of them require large muscles. I would agree that a full out flutter kick is a bad idea... and it may very well be that most divers use their legs too often and unnecessarily. but I don't buy it that an arm with only the surface area of your hand would serve as a better mechanism of propulsion when compared to legs (with fins attached).
Thank you for your contribution.
(and yes, I agree, your music taste is superb)

 

[Pinkank]

He is not suggesting that he is paddling with his hands. He is suggesting that he move himself from solid handhold to solid handhold along the bottom, or up or down an anchor line or through the wreck. It is significantly more efficient than any type of swimming because you are pushing against a (usually) immovable object so no effort is wasted in the water which moves out of the way. It is also a good way to not accidentally damage anything with errant fin kicks. However you must be careful at the same time not to damage anything you are pushing off.

 

[Tigerman]

I like the last line in particular

 

[BDSC]

I always get a kick out of folks who imply that if you are using your hands to move around when diving that somehow you are an unskilled diver. For many, the "proper way" to dive is your arms out in front with hands clasped together or they are neatly tucked into your chest area. So it's OK to use your hands to haul your gear to the boat, put on your gear, turn on your air, or clear your mask. But you use them to turn around in the water column and you are a novice. Go figure.

 

[TSandM]

Anybody who's done any cave diving in flow knows that it's much easier to pull yourself along than it is to kick against the current. In fact, one gets an object lesson in how poor fins are for propulsion any time one tries a pulling strategy instead.

I completely agree with John's article. Nitrogen is narcotic, but CO2 is more so; elevated CO2 has been repeatedly documented in divers. I am quite sure that both play a role in most narcosis episodes, not just because of exertion, but because of the laminar flow and inefficient ventilation that occurs as gas density increases. (This is one of the benefits of helium that isn't often discussed.)

 

[drrich2]

To me this is potentially a useful technique that even 'aquarium' like tropical coral reef vacation dives like me could benefit from, to extend dive times:

In Hapkido, they practice Don Jon breathing. In Yoga it is called Pranayama. There are all sorts of other names for it, but it is breathing from the abdomen, the diaphragm, not just the chest. Diaphragmatic breathing ventilates the entire lung, not just the upper lobes. Guess what this does really well??? It gets rid of CO2!!!

If I understand correctly, next time (hope there are many!) I dive in the Caribbean, and I've got an 80 cf aluminum tank (yet am 6'1", close to 275 lbs, chubby and not a workout type), if I were to breathe via my abdomen (belly going in & out) instead of my chest, I'd clear CO2 better and could run up longer dive times. My SAC tends to run around 0.64 or so, fairly variable, but I've got a skinny, fit buddy who comes out with a few hundred PSI ahead of me most every dive.

Just got back from Bonaire Saturday, or perhaps I could've tried it!

Richard.

 

[TONY CHANEY]

Outside of PPV (positive pressure ventilation) isn't all breathing diaphragmatic? Some shallow and some deep but still diaphragmatic.

 

[TSandM]

Breathing is accomplished by a mixture of intercostal muscle activity and diaphragmatic contraction. For most people, resting breathing is mostly diaphragm action, but a tense diver may be holding large lung volumes and ventilating primarily by the use of intercostals.

The biggest problem with the inefficient breathing found in novice divers is failure to exhale. To that extent, focusing on a "meditation type" breathing pattern can be useful. But breathing with very large volume changes causes problems with buoyancy. What is more efficient is to cycle one's NORMAL breathing volume around a useful and comfortable midpoint. But if anxiety or exertion begins to cause discomfort, focusing on adequate EXHALATION is very effective. Rapid, shallow panting is an extremely inefficient way to use your gas, and does not accomplish effective gas exchange, whether it's O2 or CO2.

 

[Chatterton]

Guys,

How did we learn to breathe on scuba from our Instructor in Open Water I? Breathe, "naturally", he/she said, or something similar. To many divers, that means, "I don't have to pay attention to how I breathe, I just breathe like my body tells me to, naturally." However, I am pretty sure that was not the intent? Naturally, kind of means, meeting the diver's biological needs.

When I talk about diaphragmatic breathing, I am talking about a technique using the diaphragm to fully ventilate the lungs, especially the lower lobes, like practitioners of Hapkido or Yoga. It is essentially a slow sigh. Using the muscles of the chest will inflate the upper lobes of the lungs, but does not do much for the lower lobes, so essentially, you are getting less ventilation, for the invested work of breathing (WOB). You get more O2, and get rid of more CO2, with a diaphragmatic breath, than with a shallow chest breath, because of things like anatomical dead space and ventilation.

However, none of us needs to walk around using deep, slow, diaphragmatic breathes all day long!! Personally, for me, I will take no more than 6 full diaphragmatic breathes at a time when I feel the need for them. When might I need them, you ask???

How about when I am sitting on the bench, all ready to jump in the water, and there is a problem with the boat, my buddies gear, or some other delay??? I am hot, my gear is heavy, and who is not going to be stressed out in that situation? So, I close my eyes and take a few deep breathes. Load some O2, get rid of some CO2, and try not to start the dive too stressed.

How about when the sea conditions are a little sporty? I will stop once I am on the wreck, and out of the current, to check on my gas, my gear, and my breathing. I will try to use my hands, and arms, just like some of you have described, to pull myself along the anchor line, or the wreck, and conserve energy, whenever I can. The small muscles of the arms will make much, much less CO2 than fining, and I assume anyone who has had to fight a current with fins will agree.

I also use a few diaphragmatic breathes, anytime I am facing stress during the dive. Stress can drive up the respiratory rate and promote shallow breathing. When the Bull Shark wants my fish, I take a few Don Jon breathes. It also makes the shark think I am not panicked prey, but a Hapkido Warrior! Anytime I am physically or psychologically challenged, I will try to take a couple of slow, deep, abdominal breathes.

I am not sure if utilizing diaphragmatic breathing will enable Richard to run up more dive time or not?? However if he is more economical with his expenditure of energy, stays relaxed, and ventilates well, he will probably make more efficient use of his gas supply, and I guess that could lead to more bottom time, and/or safer ascents, as far as dealing with the threat of DCS? Besides, he might just feel better as well?

IMHO, all divers, not just deep divers, need to pay attention to how they might be exerting themselves in the water, as well as to how they are their breathing. The adjustments we make are more art, and less technical.


Cheers

JC