radicular pain at depth

[snodaze]

hey, i'm wondering if anyone has ever heard of or experienced spacific numbness in an exact dematome repetedly only at depth?
i have been getting c6 numbness whenever i go deeper than 33 feet in my thumb. allways in the exact place and it goes away after surfacing within 5 - 7 minutes. i've never had cervical disc problems, but if feels like c6 herniates at presures greater than an atmospher...?
any thought?
snodaze

 

[Snowbear]

Nope. For me, diving is the one place where the pressure (compression from gravity, I pressume) is actually removed from my neck and back. I get the numbness in my right hand of which you speak, but it's only when doing specific activities on land. It's never manifested itself underwater. I have herniated disks in L4/5 and L5/S1.... the pain from that generally goes away when I'm diving, though. At least until the dive's over and gravity once again is a factor :11:

 

[cmalinowski]

Um, I am not sure of the medical nomanclature (sp?), but I have degenerating disks in my neck (4&5 I think) which cause numbness and tingling in my left arm down into the hand/thumb. That said, it never bothers me at depth. More like what Snowbear said... actually helps.

 

[michaelp68]

I have a very bad neck which includes a herniation/rupture at C6-7. I always have neck pain as well as pain, tingling and numbness down my right arm into my right hand. I've never noticed it becoming worse during a dive.

What does your doctor say?

Michael

 

[babar]

that's pretty wild. It might even be reportable. Some people have an extra rib at C7, maybe the pressure from your harness strap? Very interesting though.

babar

 

[snodaze]

well, unfoutunatly i am a doctor, and have studied a fair amount of dive medicine; and my dive budy too, is an emergency doc who also dives a lot, but neither one of us knows what to think about my wierdness.?!

i was hoping someone out there had heard about anything like this.

i've always believed that diving was good for what ails you too! and i hope your neck gets better and you keep diving.

snodaze

I have a very bad neck which includes a herniation/rupture at C6-7. I always have neck pain as well as pain, tingling and numbness down my right arm into my right hand. I've never noticed it becoming worse during a dive.

What does your doctor say?

Michael

 

[snodaze]

prety reasonable thought; i'm not sure about the extra rib, but thoracic outlet is the best explanation so far!
thanks for your input.

peace to you
snodaze

that's pretty wild. It might even be reportable. Some people have an extra rib at C7, maybe the pressure from your harness strap? Very interesting though.

babar

 

[michaelp68]

well, unfoutunatly i am a doctor, and have studied a fair amount of dive medicine; and my dive budy too, is an emergency doc who also dives a lot, but neither one of us knows what to think about my wierdness.?!

i was hoping someone out there had heard about anything like this.

i've always believed that diving was good for what ails you too! and i hope your neck gets better and you keep diving.

snodaze

That's too bad that there is no concrete answer for you, yet. I hope it stops being a problem/concern and that you keep diving, too.

Best wishes.

Michael

 

[Saturation]

Does c6 issues include the entire arm or just the thumb? If just the thumb, median nerve impingement could be more localized such as tight wrist mount gauges, watch or even wrist seals in a dry suit. As these tend to loosen with depth, divers wear them quite tight and the palsy doesn't occur until a tad later.

I've seen various types of transient spinal nerve issues related to some form of disk disease that was made more obvious by activities in diving. As babar mentioned things to consider for C6 include:

Neck position while diving
arm position while diving
fitting of harness
harness tightens unduly when BC inflated

As such subtle symptoms will unlikely need surgical correction, consider the above possibilities first, and modify them to see if it fixes the problem.

If you can wangle it and just to settle the issue in your minds consider a neck MRI and evaluate yourself for thoracic outlet.

The reverse happens in the lower spine, low back spinal issues generally improve with diving, once in the water. Its getting the tank on that hurts the most so here divers don tanks already in-water.

prety reasonable thought; i'm not sure about the extra rib, but thoracic outlet is the best explanation so far!
thanks for your input.

peace to you
snodaze