Did Nitrox diving cure my back problems?

[Fish_Whisperer]

Thanks Fish.

The reason I think there is support for my belief is hyperbaric oxygen therapy has been proven to carry oxygen deeper into tissues with low circulation than occurs breathing air at 1atm, and that's where my problem comes from - intervertebral discs get very little blood flow. They heal slowly (or don't heal completely) because they don't get much oxygen under normal conditions. I suspect that at 4 atm and a 1.6PPO2 there is more oxygen getting to these off-the-beaten-path tissues (like joints and intervertebral discs). Anyway, at this point I already have so many reasons to go diving that this is just one more heaped onto the pile.

-Ben

This was my thought too, Ben. Greater amount of O2 being carried by the blood, and being pushed deeper into the tissues because of the pressures. I don't know much about hyperbaric medicine, but it seems like a sound theory to me.

 

[DandyDon]

HBOT has some proven benefits, altho I doubt you get enough on the dives to matter. I'm with the dudes here who think that increased exercise in weightless conditions has helped more than anything - IMO/guess.

BTW, seniors are taught water aerobics along these lines, but as long as I can carry my gear, etc - this semi-senior is diving...!

We share various opinions here, sometimes in disagreement. This is interesting input...

I've gotten in the water plenty of times when I could barely stand up, with a pounding headache, unfocused eyes and drooling, and emerged from the dive feeling newborn.

But not generally recommended. I've been on trips with divers who do this - loaded one in the ambulance myself, but I really hate to be around this.

 

[Mossman]

But not generally recommended. I've been on trips with divers who do this - loaded one in the ambulance myself, but I really hate to be around this.

What's wrong with curing my hangover? It's not like it affects you. I'll just be quieter than my usual obnoxiously-loud self, which most people appreciate. What I really hate to be around on a dive boat is cigarette smoke, and loud people (other than me) with certain twangy accents who never seem to shut up, and annoying DMs.

But you piqued my curiosity about the ambulance part. What happened to that guy's hangover cure, did he go too deep?

 

[Charlie99]

Very great you are feeling better!

Do you guys know if higher concentrations of 02 in the tank translate to higher SATS?

because a normal sat on room air, .21, is about 98, I think. So..hyperbaric oxygen therapy could only potentially raise your Hg saturation a percentage, at most...or am I wrong here? That is the part I don't get...

..........

Ohhhh...maybe the "other" "unbound-to Hbg"- 02 in the blood has a physiologic effect...

As you note, the hemoglobin is pretty well saturated and increasing the ppO2 isn't going to do much. OTOH, increasing ppO2 from 0.21ata to 1.25ata is an increase by a facotr of 5 in the O2 dissolved into the water throughout the body. Hyperbaric chambers are often used for things such as assisting in wound healing in diabetics. Whatever mechanism is involved in that should also be at work when diving nitrox at depth.

The other possibility for the healing of the original poster's back could simply be the "zero gravity" effect of diving. No pressure at all on the spine.

 

[dlndavid]

edit...

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

A good hamstring stretch is to lie on your back and pull your knees to your chest. Alternatively, you could try spreading your feet greater than shoulder-width apart and bending down like you're doing "cotton-pickers." All stretches should be made slow and static. i.e. no "bouncing" Hold each stretch for ten seconds. You can also cross one foot over the other, in a standing position, and then bend down. This will stretch the hamstring of the rear-most leg.

 

[dlndavid]

thanks Frank

 

[DandyDon]

What's wrong with curing my hangover? It's not like it affects you. I'll just be quieter than my usual obnoxiously-loud self, which most people appreciate. What I really hate to be around on a dive boat is cigarette smoke, and loud people (other than me) with certain twangy accents who never seem to shut up, and annoying DMs.

But you piqued my curiosity about the ambulance part. What happened to that guy's hangover cure, did he go too deep?

Have we been on the same boat? Hey, I always go downwind to smoke. And if you don't like my accent, ask me to hush.

Scuba diving with a hangover is dangerous, but you know that. He was hungover and dehydrated. I don't think he was bent, but he did - so we docked at Allegro on Cozumel and I walked him to the ambulance. Once you ask for O2 on a Coz boat, you're off at the next dock, ambulance waiting - or it seemed that way. He had a DAN card and did 2 chamber rides - whether he needed it or not. I think the situation on Coz has improved since with the closing of a bad chamber. There was a party attitude on that trip, encourged by the trip leader, and the Op changed our morning dives to afternoon trips. Over 10% still left in ambulances from that group.

Dehydration in one of the leading causes for getting bent, tho. See My DCS Incident... thread http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=175333 for example.

 

[liberato]

...I've also been using an inversion table which has helped me as well,...

I am a big fan of inversion (but I have no explicit problems) so I wonder if your use of the inversion table coincided with your return to diving or if you were using it previously and did not have the same effect. In other words, can you isolate your results a little more? I guess one sure way to prove your thesis is to take a chamber ride (a therapeutic not emergency one) while sipping on O₂ if you ever have a flair up. That will isolate the weightless aspect of diving as a contributing element.

 

[Mossman]

Have we been on the same boat? Hey, I always go downwind to smoke. And if you don't like my accent, ask me to hush.

It's not so bad once the headache and nausea go away, but first I gotta get in the water.

Scuba diving with a hangover is dangerous, but you know that. He was hungover and dehydrated. I don't think he was bent, but he did - so we docked at Allegro on Cozumel and I walked him to the ambulance.

Yeah, I forgot to mention the most important part of the hangover cure: prior to dive, rehydrate with at least 3 cups of strong coffee. (Seriously, though, I also will have been chugging water since waking). The more coffee, the warmer the pee; and the warmer the pee, the warmer the diver!

Once you ask for O2 on a Coz boat, you're off at the next dock, ambulance waiting - or it seemed that way. He had a DAN card and did 2 chamber rides - whether he needed it or not.

That's crazy. I'd rather be bent than take a ride in a Mexican chamber, but so be it. If I wanted to self-medicate with O2, I wouldn't tell the DM that it was for a suspected DCS hit, I'd tell him I wanted it for the hangover and offer him a tip. That way he'd let me dive again.

I think the situation on Coz has improved since with the closing of a bad chamber. There was a party attitude on that trip, encourged by the trip leader, and the Op changed our morning dives to afternoon trips. Over 10% still left in ambulances from that group.

That's too bad. The best thing about morning dives is you can do them before you go to bed after a long night's partying.

Dehydration in one of the leading causes for getting bent, tho. See My DCS Incident... thread http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=175333 for example.

I simply try to avoid too much nitrogen to compensate. That means nitrox and an ultraconservative Suunto. As for the thread you cite, dehydration was only a suspected cause. It doesn't make sense to me, since plenty of divers dive more dehydrated than that all the time and don't get DCS after a single unaggressive dive.