Joint Pain and DCS

[jimisurf]

Hello,

I have elbow joint pain (basically Tennis Elbow), after a weekend of diving 60 - 100 foot dives in cold water my elbow has flared up worse than ever. Would you suspect coincidence or DCS? If DCS, is there anything I can do for it?

Any assistance would be appreciated.

Jimi

 

[BillP]

jimisurf once bubbled...


Would you suspect coincidence or DCS? If DCS, is there anything I can do for it?

The short answer is, "Yes, one would indeed suspect coincidence or DCS."

The long answer is, "It's difficult if not impossible to make such a diagnosis on an Internet message board. Divers who suspect they might have DCS should contact DAN and seek appropriate medical care."

Joint pain DCS can start with a general uneasy feeling in the joint or a feeling that you need to move the joint. A more intense throbbing pain might develop in a specific area of a joint or tendon. Usually there is not a tender point with DCS (with "tennis elbow" there frequently is) and moving the joint usually does not make the pain worse.

The initial treatment for any decompression illness is 100% oxygen. Recompression in a chamber is the preferred treatment, and often is the best diagnostic test too. (Recompression will in general relieve the pain from DCS, but not from tennis elbow.)

I suggest that you read the Attn: Please Read! link at the top of this forum. It holds important information for addressing diving emergencies, like DCS.

HTH,

Bill

The above information is intended for discussion purposes only and is not meant as specific medical advice for any individual.

 

[pufferfish]

Jimisurf, There is only one answer to your question which is call Divers Alert Network after you posted your above message. I don't know why people shy away from the obvious.

You know in travel medicine there is a saying "fever from the tropics is malaria until proven otherwise". Well in diving we should adopt the adage that " joint pain in the scuba diver is DCS until proven otherwise" period. That makes the message very clear and simple.

Yes it is possible when you get back from your tropical trip that you have picked up the flu and although the flu won't kill you, malaria might. In malaria the earlier treatment is instituted the better the outcome. The same goes for DCS in that yes you might have tennis elbow but more likely this is DCS and the sooner it is treated the better the outcome.

Like with malaria in travelers one of the biggest problems with DCS is denial of symptoms and delay in treatment by both the patient and doctor. This needs to be changed.This is why the above malaria adage was instituted across the country in medical school training. Both patients and front line doctors have become very aware of it. Is it not time for the diving agencies to adopt the same simple approach in their teaching material?

Joint pain following diving is DCS until proven otherwise


Jimisurf let us know your outcome after calling DAN.

 

[jimisurf]

Thank You for the prompt replys and the concern!!

After reading Bill's post this morning I made an appointment with my doctor (a diver herself). In her opinion my elbow pain is not due to DCS but to tendon inflammation in the elbow joint (tennis elbow).

Just out of curiosity, I am not a member of DAN (this is why I called my doctor vice calling DAN). Can non DAN members call DAN for advice?

Thanks Again,

Jimi

 

[pufferfish]

DAN or Divers Alert Network is there 24 hours a day staffed by diver medics and will take calls from any diver who considers they might have a diving related injury. You do not need to be a member to make a call.

Their number is 919-684-4326

 

[DocVikingo]

As pufferfish has said, DAN will field medical inquiries from anyone needing help.

However, if all of those using DAN's medical resources were not DAN members, and therfore not financially supporting it, this service could not be sustained.

Think about it.

DocVikingo
DAN Member

 

[pufferfish]

Best damn $29 bucks a year a diver can spend.

www.diversalertnetwork.org

 

[jimisurf]

OK,

So called DAN and saw a DAN recommended doctor at VGH today. The result was the same as my familly doctor. Looks like a tendon strain. He did comment that he would have been concerned as well given the timing of the pain onset. However, the key was the fact that the pain was localized to the tendon region and not constant, but related to movement. I'll just have to take it easy on the courts for a while...

Thanks All,

Jimi

 

[DocVikingo]

Thanks for the detailed follow up.

Best regards.

DocVikingo

 

[leadweight]

I am no medic, but it seems from experience that joint problems frequently get worse after diving. My guess is it is the combination of cold, handling tanks and climbing laders.