Dislocated shoulder + diving

[Sas]

My brother is wanting to do a Discover Scuba dive. Not sure if he will go beyond that but he does want to see what scuba diving is like.

Anyway the problem is he has a chronic shoulder injury where it will dislocate occassionally, maybe every few months. It gets dislocated if he moves his shoulder rapidly generally. He is on a waiting list for surgery but that could be well over a year away so there is not much he can do about it in the meantime. He says only one arm would be that useful as far as swimming goes. It is a Discover Scuba dive in 3m of water under a pier and I don't think there is a swim test (correct me if I am wrong though!) and I am wondering what people think about him doing the dive given he has limited mobility? And would carrying the gear around be an issue with shoulder dislocation? In a Discover Scuba dive, do you have to be responsible for setting up and carrying your own gear around? If not, I could help him with all that and also help him gear up in the water to save the lifting.

Currently he is a bricklayer so quite physically fit and strong in other aspects. And can swim fine (but slowly) if he doesn't have to use that arm.

 

[knotical]

PADI Americas, and I think most certifying agencies, encourage instructors to accommodate folks with physical difficulties.

Typically the Discover Scuba diving experience is intended to be as pleasant as possible (so the participants will sign up for the course). There is no swim test required, nor any requirement to handle your own equipment.

The certification course does have a swim test but there is no time requirement. During the training, your brother will be required to accomplish certain tasks, including deep water entries, removal and replacement of the scuba unit and regulator recovery. If done in the typical manner, these could be a problem for a dis-locatable shoulder, but accommodations should be do-able.

Examples:
Students can be assisted with lifting equipment.
Many scuba units have a quick release on each shoulder that allows easy removal of the scuba unit.
Regulator recovery can be done without undue stress on the shoulder, for example by the sweep method.
etc.

Suggest your brother have a chat with potential instructors.

good luck,

 

[Straegen]

I have a very similar problem as mine tends to dislocate when it is at a certain angle or when I have to put a lot of force behind it while moving it quickly... good example a fly annoyed me and I swatted it a few months back and bam out pops the shoulder.

So here is a bunch of good news. First, you shouldn't be using your arms when you swim at least for scuba. He should cross his arms or keep them by his side and use the legs/fins. Second, to get your OW you have to swim 200 yards I believe but there is no time limit. I flipped on my back and basically kicked my way through it and still managed a decent time (course I am freaking walrus in and out of the water). Third there are things you can do to actually help with this problem. The biggest is physical therapy which can show some excellent ways to strengthen the shoulder muscles which goes a long way to preventing a separation.

Unfortunately the surgery is only a minor fix and often doesn't hold over the long term. I weigh my options every couple years and in the end figure out that waiting till I am unable to keep a healthy strong muscle wrapped around that joint or they come up with a better alternative is the best thing for me. Seemingly every year they get better at these type problems so I am still hopeful that surgery will soon be right for me.

 

[TSandM]

Straegen pretty much covered it. Extension and abduction (away from the body) is the movement most likely to dislocate the shoulder. Using quick releases avoids having to do this getting into gear. And not only does one not have to use one's arms for swimming on scuba, it is highly discouraged!

 

[Airfree]

My brother is wanting to do a Discover Scuba dive. Not sure if he will go beyond that but he does want to see what scuba diving is like.

Anyway the problem is he has a chronic shoulder injury where it will dislocate occassionally, maybe every few months. It gets dislocated if he moves his shoulder rapidly generally. He is on a waiting list for surgery but that could be well over a year away so there is not much he can do about it in the meantime. He says only one arm would be that useful as far as swimming goes. It is a Discover Scuba dive in 3m of water under a pier and I don't think there is a swim test (correct me if I am wrong though!) and I am wondering what people think about him doing the dive given he has limited mobility? And would carrying the gear around be an issue with shoulder dislocation? In a Discover Scuba dive, do you have to be responsible for setting up and carrying your own gear around? If not, I could help him with all that and also help him gear up in the water to save the lifting.

Currently he is a bricklayer so quite physically fit and strong in other aspects. And can swim fine (but slowly) if he doesn't have to use that arm.

One suggestion to help support your brother- get some waterproof sport tape and wrap his shoulder prior to the dive...you can look up on the Internet and found out how to tape the shoulder.

 

[Sas]

Thanks for the advice! I told him using arms is discouraged for scuba but because he will be new to it, I thought he might be using them a bit as he gets used to diving.

I will check into the tape for his shoulder.

He would most likely do OW through BSAC, not PADI so I will also check out their OW requirements as well in case my brother wants to go further than a try dive.

Straegen, that is interesting what you say about surgery being a short term fix. I might tell my brother to get a second opinion now...