Is scuba a good back injury rehab excercise?

[piikki]

As other have mentioned, the weight of your equipment will be a real problem, however what I didn't see mentioned is that you do not have to be wearing your equipment when entering or exiting the water, which makes it no problem at all.

If you go boat diving in calm water, there's absolutely no reason you can't setup your gear and ask someone to lower it into the water, walk down the ladder and then put it on.

This is certainly a possibility but was kind of ignored a bit because the OP was asking whether SCUBA would be good as a rehab exercise. I am sure none of the no-crowd denies that SCUBA could be great rehab in the sense how rehab works when an activity makes you feel less pain, isolation, motivates you and/or is generally fun.

OP sure can try SCUBA and might very well enjoy it a great deal. I have a feeling a doc would tell him to wait a bit/and or enlist some help right now and his back might not improve greatly as a result. However, he might feel better and sometimes that is what counts.

My back improved substantially. I can't say if it was part of the natural healing process or if it was attributable to the diving. I can say with certainity it was great for my head after a trying experience.

I can bet money that if re-entry to diving does not re-injure my back it will improve it too! (I have been trying to tell this to my surgeon to bargain myself back to water with no luck this far).

 

[mase]

I can bet money that if re-entry to diving does not re-injure my back it will improve it too! (I have been trying to tell this to my surgeon to bargain myself back to water with no luck this far).

My surgeon was all for it, after several months of rehab and feeling good. ie. pain free. He felt the exercise would be good and just cautioned about carrying gear.

They use hyperbaric chambers now to speed up recovery after injuries. I wonder if diving can have the same affect.

 

[DESIGNERDIVER]

Yes, the weight load can be tough. I was getting ready to dive the next day and tweaked my back. There was no way I could put on my 90lbs and do a shore dive.

wow 90lbs?? what kinda gear do you use?

 

[alewar]

If they can dive, you can dive.

http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/115141

 

[piikki]

If they can dive, you can dive.

http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/115141

It's not that straightforward. Sometimes irreparable damage is done, for example to spinal cord. Further stress with weights, twisting etc will thus not cause further damage, especially after initial recovery is over. With acute back injuries (like it sounds OP is suffering from) it would be quite a different ballgame to play around during the fragile state. Doubt the vets did scuba in the acute recovery phase either because everyone wants the body to recover to the maximum functionality before playing around with anything that could jeopardize recovery. (Of course some injuries are different. Spine is pretty nasty).

My surgeon was all for it, after several months of rehab and feeling good. ie. pain free. He felt the exercise would be good and just cautioned about carrying gear.

They use hyperbaric chambers now to speed up recovery after injuries. I wonder if diving can have the same affect.

My surgeon is all for it too. He just did not agree that I should dive two days after the surgery like I wanted to My surgery was less than 2 months ago, so I am still stuck with the rehab game.

 

[BettyRubble]

I had back surgery 11 years ago. The diving part is the easy part. It is the pre/post dive tasks dealing with weight and gear that is tough on the back. The toughest on me is not so much carrying it to/from the dive, as I manage it like everything else in my life now -- in stages. But the issue is the moment of gear up before being in the water, and the moment of getting out of the water (especially up a ladder). I suspect being on a rocking boat trying to climb a ladder is going to pose the most risk. As you probably know, core strength is a key to managing back pain. So unless your core is in decent shape, I wouldn't attempt scuba or any weight bearing activity. If your core is in decent shape, and you are otherwise in decent physical condition, then only your doc can advise you to try it. Like others posted, you'll need a buddy who is aware of your issues and willing to give extra assistance. Also, you'll be surprised how tiring it is at first. If you haven't had much cardio or other physical activity for a while, you will want to work on conditioning too. Finally, there is the added issue of how cold affects your back.

 

[Druid]

Lots of people have suggested that the weight of dive kit is going to do your back no good at all, and I'd agree with that.

I was thinking of scuba because the amount of exercise you get is quite substantial from what I hear.

You heard wrong. Scuba is a low energy activity, the aim is to be calm and relaxed underwater - your gas lasts longer that way That's not to say you don't need to be reasonably fit to dive, just that diving is not going to make you fit.

 

[I Dive]

Lots of people have suggested that the weight of dive kit is going to do your back no good at all, and I'd agree with that.



You heard wrong. Scuba is a low energy activity, the aim is to be calm and relaxed underwater - your gas lasts longer that way That's not to say you don't need to be reasonably fit to dive, just that diving is not going to make you fit.

I can kind of see your point. I certainly agree that diving itself is not going to result in total, all around physical fitness for anyone. But, let's not discount the amount of exercise it does provide. I think experienced divers forget this over time because their bodies have gotten used to it and therefore they no longer notice it. You are carrying gear to a dive site, putting that gear on your body, likely walking with that gear whether it be a few feet on a boat or hundreds of feet on a shore dive, getting in the water and moving your body weight plus the weight of that gear through the water, getting yourself out of the water, likley again walking with that gear on, and finally carrying that gear back to wherever you need to take it when you are finished diving. This by itself will never make you the next Hulk Hogan or qualify you for the next Boston Marathon. But, it certainly is still good exercise. I remember the day after my first OW class. I considered myself in good shape at the time and I was hurting the following morning. My body just wasn't used to lugging all that stuff around, and it certainly wasn't used to pushing all that weight through the water. I don't notice that any longer, but that's because I dive on a regular basis. If I dived once or twice a year, I'm almost certain my body would remind me each time. I have no idea if diving will help (or hurt) the OP's back problem but I do know that diving is good exercise.

 

[Rick Inman]

If I sneeze wrong, I herniate a disc. I've been banished from diving for short periods of time (pain meds). But regardless of the pain I've been in, once I get in the water the pain goes away. The issues with diving and my back are all out of the water.

wow 90lbs?? what kinda gear do you use?

The 90# kit must be doubles. With my doubles, can light, argon bottle and V weight, my kit is around that weight.

I've managed to set up my diving life above the waist. In other words, I don't ever let my gear touch the ground. It goes from table to table to truck bed to wall edge, etc. I only carry it on my back with it on, and use my legs to lift. I have a great portable table (made for a table saw) that is at waist level. When I go on vacation, the first thing I do is buy a cheep portable table for my gear. I have over a year now without a back incident, and for me that is a record.

Diving is not exercise. And diving feels great on my back when I'm in the water, but I guess you could do that floating in the pool and save 10 grand.

 

[BettyRubble]

I've managed to set up my diving life above the waist. In other words, I don't ever let my gear touch the ground. It goes from table to table to truck bed to wall edge, etc. I only carry it on my back with it on, and use my legs to lift. I have a great portable table (made for a table saw) that is at waist level. When I go on vacation, the first thing I do is buy a cheep portable table for my gear. QUOTE]

This has me thinking about how to better manage my situation. Thanks! I have the same issue where I am fine once it is up/on me but the bending part is the risk. Hmmmm. . .