Getting in and out of the water with neck and back injuries

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Chris Rigano

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Location
158 dove lake dr Tavernier fl 33070
# of dives
I'm a Fish!
Hi, I have been diving for a long time. I was wounded and sustained military related neck and lower back damage and every so many years I have a relapse. I am 66, cleared by the doc to dive. I did do the stride bout am worried now that I just mostly recovered and don't want to get hurt. I now live in the keys (Tavernier) and folks are saying I can put my equipment on in the water and remove it. I use 6 - 10 lbs of weight. I was going to try SSI seated entry and was told it was dangerous so back to getting equipment on and off in the water. Can't find any training on this; also sea conditions e.g., only 2 ft waves etc. any advice on entries, lighter gear tips are appreciated. I want to keep diving, have done 8 dives this may in about 1.5 to 2 ft. Thanks in advance for your advice, Chris
 
I dive with a group of retired firefighters. 20+ years of hose dragging, kicking doors, and running into places where others are running out, absolutely takes its toll on the body. On any given trip, someone is banged up or nursing an old injury. Necks, backs, and shoulders are common. Like you, these guys are true heroes and I'm happy to help them out however need be to get them in the water. They have earned that right.

The primary thing is to discuss your injury with your dive up and see what type of equipment they use and how they can accommodate your needs. Their boat may not be right for you. Odds are though, their DM's and deck hands have seen bad backs/necks before and will be willing to help. Gearing up on the swim platform (if equipped) or in the water eliminates the walk on the boat to jump in. Shedding your gear in the water and having the crew or dive buddy lift it up so all you have to do is climb the ladder gear free and make it to your seat.

Many ops will have wagons or carts to get your gear from the car to the boat. If not, most sporting goods stores have wagons that collapse down for storage.

As far as gearing up in the water, if it's calm, it's prettty easy. An afternoon in a pool will get you squared away. Quick release buckles on at least one of the shoulder straps will be your friends. A Velcro cumberbun on your bcd is also a good idea. If you dive a BP/w. A comfort harness will have the buckles and maybe even a quick release buckle on the waist strap as well. Set your gear up to meet your needs. I get my bcd on barely and start my descent and finish snugging it up. That works for me, but find what works for you.

On normal 6 pack type boat, passing your single tank gear up is no big deal. Some even have a door that lifts out to make it even easier.

In rougher seas, your dive buddy can make it much easier to gear up in the water. Even then, Some days may not be for you. I think the hardest part of all this will be finding the op that will work with you and has the boat that fits your needs the best. A 5 foot drop to the water and rickety ladder with no hand rails may not be the op for you.

There is training for any need, ask some local instructors or divemasters about helping out, Any with experience working with Diveheart may be particularly qualified. There is always the option of hiring a private divemaster as well and let him or her know what help you need.

No need to give up diving, you just have to find an op with the equipment and crew that works with you. Thank you for your service, thank you for your sacrifice, and if you ever find yourself in central Oklahoma the first beer is on me!

Good luck,
Jay
 
After lower back surgery I shifted focus to diving in lakes / sweet water in sidemount config. Handling two small independent tanks is also better for your back when it comes to filling, transport, lifting gear out of the car, ... The worst for my back are large twin tanks from boat or from shore; it's fine in the water but carrying all tanks and all lead at once in and out of the water hurts. But be warned that sidemount diving from a boat in the ocean takes practice. Better take a class and collect experience by shore diving, lakes and quarries first.
 
I don't have a bad back, but also really don't want one. I noticed a sore back after climbing into a boat during high waves, and after it happened a 2nd time I started looking into solutions.

Something I've considered (but not done) is wearing a backbrace over my wetsuit. I have no idea how durable that would be, but even if to wore out after 20 dives might still be worth it.

However, soon after I discovered sidemount. With sidemount, you typically dive with two tanks clipped to the side of your rig. Often, those tanks are clipped to your harness once you're in the water, and at the end of the dive detached before exiting the water.

A lot of people do side-mount with 2x full sized tanks, but you can also opt for smaller tanks. For example, 2x 40cu tanks would give you just as much air as a single 80 cu tank, and each tank is half the weight. There are many other benefits of sidemount, such as being more streamlined and getting a redundant air-source. The main downside is cost, namely setting up an entire 2nd set of regulators, and training-costs. You might have additional costs when it comes to filling scuba-tanks, renting scuba-tanks, or buying scuba-tanks if you're using 2x smaller tanks.

Sidemounting.com is pretty fantastic for learning a lot of the basics, and having well-made concise videos you can rewatch as many times as needed.

I'm fairly new to sidemounting, but there is a section of this board for sidemounting & the people there have been very helpful.
 
I dive with a group of retired firefighters. 20+ years of hose dragging, kicking doors, and running into places where others are running out, absolutely takes its toll on the body. On any given trip, someone is banged up or nursing an old injury. Necks, backs, and shoulders are common. Like you, these guys are true heroes and I'm happy to help them out however need be to get them in the water. They have earned that right.

The primary thing is to discuss your injury with your dive up and see what type of equipment they use and how they can accommodate your needs. Their boat may not be right for you. Odds are though, their DM's and deck hands have seen bad backs/necks before and will be willing to help. Gearing up on the swim platform (if equipped) or in the water eliminates the walk on the boat to jump in. Shedding your gear in the water and having the crew or dive buddy lift it up so all you have to do is climb the ladder gear free and make it to your seat.

Many ops will have wagons or carts to get your gear from the car to the boat. If not, most sporting goods stores have wagons that collapse down for storage.

As far as gearing up in the water, if it's calm, it's prettty easy. An afternoon in a pool will get you squared away. Quick release buckles on at least one of the shoulder straps will be your friends. A Velcro cumberbun on your bcd is also a good idea. If you dive a BP/w. A comfort harness will have the buckles and maybe even a quick release buckle on the waist strap as well. Set your gear up to meet your needs. I get my bcd on barely and start my descent and finish snugging it up. That works for me, but find what works for you.

On normal 6 pack type boat, passing your single tank gear up is no big deal. Some even have a door that lifts out to make it even easier.

In rougher seas, your dive buddy can make it much easier to gear up in the water. Even then, Some days may not be for you. I think the hardest part of all this will be finding the op that will work with you and has the boat that fits your needs the best. A 5 foot drop to the water and rickety ladder with no hand rails may not be the op for you.

There is training for any need, ask some local instructors or divemasters about helping out, Any with experience working with Diveheart may be particularly qualified. There is always the option of hiring a private divemaster as well and let him or her know what help you need.

No need to give up diving, you just have to find an op with the equipment and crew that works with you. Thank you for your service, thank you for your sacrifice, and if you ever find yourself in central Oklahoma the first beer is on me!

Good luck,
Jay
Thanks so much for the encouragement Jay! Why not visit me and the wife in the Keys?
 
I always put my gear on and off in the water. With a single tank and BCD pump enough air into the jacket to float it, put it in the water on a light rope. Make sure regs, Spg and inflation hose ( if you use one) are clipped neatly to the shoulder straps. Spread the straps to the side. Put on your weight belt, fins, mask and snorkel. Drop in upstream and with your back to the BCD grab the cumberband and push it under like your trying to sit on it. Put both arms behind and into the shoulder straps at the same time. The buoyancy in the jacket will do the rest when you slide of it. Same for a twin set and wing. For side mount hang the tanks about 12in underwater and clip on. I use steel tanks so I’m always positive beforehand. DONT drop in negative. Have someone with you when practicing. You’re going to get in a tangle at first.
 
I've used the method you describe a few times. It may add limitations as to how rough of seas you can manage. That's probably OK because you don't want to be on a boat in rough seas in the first place if you can help it.

Don in the water is really simple, as long as you can swim. It would probably be much more difficult if you're using an old-school weight belt. You don't want to be very negative without your bcd or it could become dangerous. Make sure you've got a BCD with integrated weights. If you do, it's as simple as this:
Put your gear together on the boat
Inflate the bcd
Jump off the boat without your tank/bcd/weights/reg
Have the DM hand you your gear.
Put the gear on and descend

after the dive, you just take the bcd off before you climb the ladder.

Of course you have to make sure the boat people are ok with this ahead of time. I suspect if you discuss it before boarding the boat it won't be an issue.

It's not unheard of, but I don't think there's a class on it. If you're uncomfortable, hire a private DM on a dive or two and have them work through it with you. I'd find it hard to believe an active DM would not have already done this before with someone else.
 
Dove with DJ at Honolulu Scuba Co. doing CCR Trimix a year ago. He's also disabled vet with back issues and dons gear in-water off the boat, works very well, even for multi-bottle CCR diving.
 
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