Massage after diving (kinda hypothetical question)

[M DeM]

I do nowhere near enough diving for this to be a problem, but....

When I went on a trip to Grand Cayman, we had the same dive guide all week, and he told us this story.

His girlfriend was training to become a masseuse, so one day after work he and some buddies each got a deep-tissue massage from her.

I can't remember how long after the massage it happened, but all three of them had issues. Two of them were in serious pain, and the dive guide himself wound up in the hospital.

Now, he had probably done at least 2 dives that day, and if our trip there was a usual week for him, then he was doing 2 to 3 dives every day, and I assume it was the same for his buddies.

I looked it up, and consensus seems to be that there's no *research* that proves a correlation. But I'm wondering if anyone else has heard anecdotes about massage and diving.

 

[Jayfarmlaw]

It doesn't take a lot of diving. Divers get undeserved DCS hits all the time. I would guess if you were borderline when you came out of the water, it might put you over the edge.

I have always heard no massage, sauna, or hot tub after diving. It can release the nitrogen bubbles trapped in your body tissues. There is a member here @Duke Dive Medicine that would be a much better source than I am.

Safe travels,
Jay

 

[JackD342]

What is Decompression: Massage and Diving — Medical Dive Article — DAN | Divers Alert Network

Massage & Diving

I've been told not get a deep tissue massage the same day as diving because it can cause DCS. Is this true?
You raise an interesting question about the possible association between massage and DCS risk. Some have cautioned against massage before diving. The clearest justification is to avoid muscle pain that might be attributed to DCS. A more speculative concern is to minimize the development of micronuclei. The nature and action of micronuclei has not been confirmed, but it is believed that they are the seeds from which bubbles form. There is a theoretical concern that tissue massage may induce micronuclei formation and thus precipitate bubble formation. Tissue stimulation could also increase blood flow which may either positively enhance tissue gas elimination or precipitate problematic bubble formation.

As you can see, there is no clear sense of what massage might do and this effect would likely vary depending on dive profiles and intensity of the massage. We should note that massage has not been confidently associated with any of the cases of DCS that have come to us, and we are not aware of any study done to address this question. The clearest piece of advice is that deep tissue massage should probably be avoided, so that the potential of post-dive pain and diagnostic confusion are minimized.
Dr. Nick Bird MD.

 

[Doc]

Massage after diving, hypothetical?

Not in the Philippines. It’s pretty-much-so a given.

An 85 pound lady will work you over for an hour and you’ll feel like any other victim of torture especially in the hours following this service.

The OP did not infer or mention DCS, only “serious pain”.

Well, yeah.

 

[Pedro Burrito]

---

---

A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

Moved from Basic to Diving Medicine

---

 

[JackOfDiamonds]

When you think about it, it makes sense . The nitrogen that is still trapped in your blood can suddenly dislodge or expand under the pressure of a deep tissue message, but as this is not exact science no one can really tell.

During my stay in Thailand i went on a 4 dive whole day trip, did 3 dives to 100+ ft and 1 to 70ft, no more then 2hours have passed since i left the water until i was on the message bed in my resort getting a deep tissue for an hour, i did not feel any DCS symptoms.
How ever i might not be the best example, i have gone diving several times after "abusing" my body just couple of hours before on minimal sleep and bad over all conditions (drinking the night before etc) and never got anywhere close to the bends, while my buddy who dove in optimal conditions with me did get it.

So i guess its also a matter of your body's resilience , everyone's different in that matter. As a general rule i would avoid it.

 

[Duke Dive Medicine]

I guess it could theoretically agitate supersaturated tissue similar to smacking the side of a bottle of soda, but as Dr. Byrd says, I don't think there's any literature to confirm this.

Best regard,
DDM