Cervical Degeneration

[garetjax]

Hello all -
Is it possible for DCS to cause, or at least accelerate cervical disk disease and/or tendinitis?

I'm in my mid 30s, and started diving a few months ago, and just 3 weeks ago tried cold water diving with a weight belt for the first time. I had to carry weights/tanks, etc. for a long ways out to the water. I do not do any weight lifting, or hard physical work normally, but I do aerobics. My dive profile was:
2 min., max depth 24 ft
9 min, max depth 20 ft (came up a little fast here)
16 min, max depth 24 ft (where I was pulling heavy weights up on the shore from out of the water)

My ears started hurting about 2 days after, and I was diagnosed with a middle & outer ear infection which was treated OK. And about the same time, I got tendinitis in my left wrist (I sit at a computer all day, but first time this has occurred), which after about 8 days has completely healed. Bad luck? Well, several days later (1 week after the dive) my lower back started hurting, and then I called DAN since I suspected something amiss with all of this recent bad luck. I also called a diving Dr., and both felt DCS was not to blame since so much time had elapsed from the dive. However, my Dr. ordered an MRI which found that I have multi-level Disk Degeneration in my neck.

There is little, to no pain, but I do have some crepitus (grating) when I move my neck.

Would DCS have caused or accelarted any of this, or did the weight belt/tanks, heavy lifting, etc. just aggrevate a previous condition?

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I'm 38 and have some tendonitis in my right wrist from too much typing at work (too many damned case notes) but I find that it can be aggravated by carrying scuba tanks on the weekend if I am not careful in how I carry them. (With regard to work and repetetive motion, I have also found that proper stretching every day a few times a day keeps the tendonitis at bay and prevents the swelling around the tendons that leads to pain.)

I also have some crepitation in my neck due to a couple of car accidents and have had problems with some moderate pain on occassion over the last couple winters. However, I find I have no problems with pain or with things getting pinched during the diving season. I dive in cold water (low to mid 40's) and do some fairly moderate deco diving every week with about 100 to 150 dives per season. I had been contemplating whether diving eases these symptoms but figured it is more likely that I am just more active and in better physical condition over the course of the spring, summer and early fall and then have went to pot the last couple winters where the cross country skis have stayed in the closet.

In my opinion the tendonitis flare up could quite likely be related to the additional lifting but based on my experience I doubt the increased crepitation would be a DCS, cold or pressure related issue.

I am a vocational rehabilitation counselor by profession and in my experience, people who are more active after suffering an injury, even a chronic one, retain more mobility and experience less pain, (or perhaps notice any pain to a lesser degree as they are active and enjoying what they are doing.) As long as what someone does is not causing more damage (they should consult with their Dr.) a little pain should not be a contra-indication and may well improve with continued activity and excercise.

"Guarding" a painful area, particularly in the back or neck, tends to lead to a decrease in muscle tone in the area can start a downward spiral where things hurt more as you get in progressively worse physical condition. Adding to this is the compensation that is done to "protect" the painful area. This can cause stress and pain in other areas due to the use or overuse of muscles not normally used and/or do to changes in posture related to guarding the injured area. It's a natural reaction but one that can cause more problems. When it comes to joints and flexibility, it's frequently a case of use it or lose it. Maintaining your activity level despite a little pain initially is often the best course as long as doing so will not result in further injury.

In many cases good physical theraphy will involve pain and pain meds are prescribed to get the patient through the inital painful portions of the PT until things start to get better. Unfortunately, many people just take the meds, skip doing effective PT and end up needing the meds long term.

A higher incidence of bone necrosis has been associated with divers with a long history of deco diving and in particular in saturation divers, but I have not heard of any correlations between degenerative disc disease and recreatioanl diving

 

[Dr Deco]

Hello garetjax:

DCS and Joint Degeneration

I have not heard of this relationship. There is a relationship between compressed air work and bone degeneration (aseptic bone necrosis) but this is a different matter.

As the earlier responder noted, physical tasks can provoke tendonitis. From a purely mechanistic point of view, I would doubt cervical disk degeneration would be exacerbated by decompression.

Dr Deco :doctor:

Please note the next class in Decompression Physiology :grad:
http://wrigley.usc.edu/hyperbaric/advdeco.htm

 

[garetjax]

Thanks for the great comments! Very helpful, and set my mind at ease which is sometimes the best medicine.