Broken bones & diving?

[altitudemike]

I crashed my snowmobile in the mountains yesterday & broke my wrist, bruised my sternum & pulled ligaments in my left shoulder & right knee. Now I have a dive trip over the holidays. Anyone ever dive a little worse for wear? I feel like I could do it if I stay conservative with my dive profile.

 

[Mo2vation]

Received the leg roddage on 9/4, and I was back in the water 10/31.

Depends on your injury, what your doctor thinks, and most of all how you're feeling. I was able to put full weight on it by 10/25, saw the doc that week, he said it looked OK (but asked me to be very careful) and I did a dive on 10/31.

YMMV.

Be careful.

---
Ken

 

[altitudemike]

I broke something in my wrist that starts with an S but I can't remember what. Sounded cool anyway!

 

[Scuba Duba Doo]

Call DAN

 

[TSandM]

Broke your scaphoid, maybe? Aren't you in a cast? I can't think of how you would dive and keep a cast dry.

Scaphoid fractures are notorious for poor healing and are at HIGH risk for a non-union if not immobilized well. If that's what you have, be very careful with it.

 

[BeachBumatHeart]

There are waterproof casts available. I've had a couple, and dove with them, even returning to diving 11 days after surgery with a plate and screws, as soon as the stitches were out. I never had any problems or complications, but you definitely need to have your doctor's blessing. I did.

 

[fisherdvm]

Waterproof casts?? I find it laughable... Have you ever smell your shoes after a day at work?? Have you ever smell the inside of a cast after even 1 week?

It stinks, and reeks of fermenting sweat, sebum, bacteria, and yeast.

Add a little fresh pond water or salt water, a little maceration, a little serum, what a mess would you have.

I would like to know how you seal the open ends of a "waterproof" cast while diving.

 

[BeachBumatHeart]

There is nothing to seal. The liner is made of goretex, which does not absorb water, and allows the water underneath to evaporate.

You may find it laughable, but as someone who has worn both types of casts, I can tell you that the waterproof cast is far more sanitary than the traditional type. With a waterproof cast you are able to shower and wash away all the nastiness that builds up under a traditional cast. The skin is in much better condition when the cast is removed. This has been my experience, and was also reflected in all the research I read prior to getting the waterproof cast. My doctor also gave me the same information.

To each his own, and the decision to dive with an injury should, of course, be made only with careful consideration and in consultation with one's doctor.

 

[fisherdvm]

Here's the company's statement:GORE PROCEL® Cast Liner, formerly known as GORE Cast Liner, is a unique waterproof, breathable cast padding that allows you to continue your normal routine at home and at work without worrying about keeping your cast dry. Used in place of cotton underneath a fiberglass cast, GORE PROCEL® Cast Liner allows you to:

Bathe or shower

Minimize cast odor and itching

Swim

Wash your hands

Bathe your children

Begin hydrotherapy

Wash the dishes, the car, the dog - without the hassle of trying to protect your cast from getting wet.
When a fiberglass cast padded with GORE PROCEL® Cast Liner gets wet, most of the water drains quickly out of the ends of your cast. The remaining moisture is warmed by body heat, becomes vapor and passes through the Cast Liner and fiberglass casting tape. No special drying is necessary.

Clinical experience throughout the country confirms GORE PROCEL® Cast Liner patients value the freedom of being able to get their cast wet. In fact, 98% of patients who have used GORE PROCEL® Cast Liner would recommend it to others.

 

[fisherdvm]

Apparently there is even a waterproof cast cover that you can put over your cast. In any case, I can see their point on how water can run through it.

I trained with the traditional cast liner, cotton, and plaster cast. Then later, the fiberglass ones.

I guess I just have not realized the technology of goretex liner, and how waterproof it could be.

My reservation about scuba, is, as the pressure increases, water will seep between the goretex and the outer cast material. The cotton or synthetic liner then could get wet, get mouldy or harbor bacteria.

While this is not a concern if the goretex liner keep your skin completly dry, but if it allow for the overgrowth of bacteria to seep against the skin, then problem can arise.

My gut feeling is, this cast might be ok for swimming or snorkeling, but for scubadiving, you might take a little risk in getting the inside of the cast (not your skin) wet.