DCS incident analysis requested

[Spoon]

Exercise Causes an immediate response

"Exercise generally causes an immediate response in the cardiovascular system. This response includes local blood flow changes which then cause reflexes that then cause an increased cardiac output (how much blood the heart is pumping out). From the cardiovascular standpoint, exercise is any activity that raises the resting oxygen consumption above basal levels. Thus swimming, walking with heavy gear, climbing ladders and performing heavy labor relating to diving are all sensed by the heart and cardiovascular system as forms of exercise and require an increased output. " Medicine online, approved by DAN

Exercise, in moderation, should be no problem, in the fit diver, but avoid EXCESSIVE forms of physical activity just prior to diving, especially deep diving, and repetitive diving.

Hope this helps.

i totally agree with you pilotfish. have read numerous journals that state the same thing.

 

[pilot fish]

i totally agree with you pilotfish. have read numerous journals that state the same thing.

Thanks Spoon. The important thing is to be as safe as possible. It just makes sense not to run a race or do excessive exercise, jogging or hiking, pre dive. I'm very glad your DCS was as minimum as it was. Another, less fit, diver might not have fared as well as you did. You must be in great shape?

 

[Spoon]

Thanks Spoon. The important thing is to be as safe as possible. It just makes sense not to run a race or do excessive exercise, jogging or hiking, pre dive. I'm very glad your DCS was as minimum as it was. Another, less fit, diver might not have fared as well as you did. You must be in great shape?

i honestly think that my rigorous exercise really played a major role in me getting bent. i have had similar profiles in the past without any hitches. im not saying what i did was brought on by my exercise, hell the profiles alone are kinda on the edge, i am saying that the culprit that drove the nail on the coffin was most likely the rig. exercise. i have been goingto the gym on and off for over a decade and have been building my cardiovascular endurance up slowly, its one of the first times i ever ran on concrete pavement so the stress on my body and joints dint exactly help. but i am by far fit, i aint stout, i aint mean and lean, im just an average 28 year old.

 

[pilot fish]

i honestly think that my rigorous exercise really played a major role in me getting bent. i have had similar profiles in the past without any hitches. im not saying what i did was brought on by my exercise, hell the profiles alone are kinda on the edge, i am saying that the culprit that drove the nail on the coffin was most likely the rig. exercise. i have been goingto the gym on and off for over a decade and have been building my cardiovascular endurance up slowly, its one of the first times i ever ran on concrete pavement so the stress on my body and joints dint exactly help. but i am by far fit, i aint stout, i aint mean and lean, im just an average 28 year old.

28 year old? eek, I have shoes older than that Very good that you are realizing what contributed to your DCS. Yes, the profile alone is risky but the excessive exercise put you over the edge If you had been 20 or 30 years older it might have been a whole lot worse. That is what I was trying to tell Jon and Jeff.

Thank you for sharing this becauise it helps us all as divers and clears up some faulty beliefs.

 

[onfloat]

Maybe some one should read this.

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=108893&highlight=exercise

did any of you read this??

 

[pilot fish]

did any of you read this??

Hi Float. Yes, but it is not approved or recommended by DAN or PADI.

If you want to run a race or hike, then do that, but if you are going to dive right after the hike or race, DON'T DIVE.

 

[jonnythan]

Hi Float. Yes, but it is not approved or recommended by DAN or PADI.

Obviously it's hogwash!

 

[onfloat]

I do it regularly, but I usually only do 5 or 6 miles, but I've been known to go as much as 12 miles. The key is proper hydration. Yeah, I guess Aviation, Space, Enviromental Medicine is not PADI or DAN

 

[chip104]

http://www.scuba-doc.com/exhrt.htm

Hi, pilotfish thanks for referencing the link, very interesting read. But I am still having trouble how it relates to predive exercise. Maybe you can help me.

Here's the entire paragraph that you quoted in your other text (the bold here is the one you omitted):

Divers need to obtain a physical fitness that allows maximum oxygen consumption. This is the ability to do work, such as swimming a reasonable distance with diving gear without getting too short of breath, and be able to help a partner who has been injured or requires assistance to return to the boat. One way of adjusting to the fitness needs of diving is to carefully plan your dives, avoiding situations requiring excess physical exertion above and beyond your physical capacities. This works well for the elderly diver or the diver who has physical incapacities. The best way is to exercise regularly.

So when Dr. Campbell says to avoid situations requiring excess physical exertion above and beyond your physical capacities I took it that he was referring to the dive itself (not predive exercise). I see how predive exercise may cause you to fatigue quicker. But by just capturing this quote (and nothing else), this could be applied to anything you do in life. Am I overlooking something here?

You quote this as well:

Exercise generally causes an immediate response in the cardiovascular system. This response includes local blood flow changes which then cause reflexes that then cause an increased cardiac output (how much blood the heart is pumping out). From the cardiovascular standpoint, exercise is any activity that raises the resting oxygen consumption above basal levels. Thus swimming, walking with heavy gear, climbing ladders and performing heavy labor relating to diving are all sensed by the heart and cardiovascular system as forms of exercise and require an increased output.

I took this paragraph to talk about the physiology of exercise and how it relates to swimming, walking with heavy gear, climbing ladders and and performing heavy labor relating to diving. I don’t see any mention of predive exercise in this quote. Am I being too shallow in interpreting it?

I view the webpage by Dr. Campbell as information on how diving can be considered exercise and that it's targetted to people who are thinking about taking up diving so they have information about the exercise involved in diving. I can see how someone can interpret that you need to be physically fit (enough) for the activities involved with diving. I can also conclude that if you are tired before a dive (whether because of exercise or not), don’t do anything requiring excess physical exertion above and beyond your physical capacities. I’m unsure of how predive exercise fits into the picture. What did I miss?

Here’s a nice link that Vie put up in the other thread which is another good read about exercise & diving:
http://www.undercurrent.org/UCnow/articles/Exercise200403.shtml

ps I’m not on either side of whether predive exercise is beneficial or not. I am for proper referencing. In Spoon’s case, it may have unfortunately been a factor of his DCS. Especially since his joints were stressed (this is my interpretation).

 

[chip104]

did any of you read this??

Yes I read it. Nice read. I think we all have to be careful about referencing an article without actually reading it - including just reading the abstract.

Even if it's not approved by DAN or PADI, these studies are published in ISI journals (internationally accredited journals) that hold a high standard for quality and are just as good a reference. I think it would be irresponsible not to take these studies into consideration - even if it argues against a point you are trying to make.