shoulder/neck pain question

[Scuba Barbie]

I dove Sunday and woke up Monday with pain in my upper back - shoulder area and neck area (mostly on the left side). It was painful to turn my head and the way I drive in Houston traffic this made for quite an inconvenience......

I dove Wednesday and wore my husband's larger bcd (by mistake) and the pain did not increase.

I have been doing neck rolls and some other mild excerises. The pain lessens every day.

I have zero stomach muscles, am overwieght, and Sunday was my first post-cert dive. These could be contributing factors.

Anyone else ever experience this?

 

[kelpmermaid]

I sometimes have problems with my neck and back muscles which I think are related to computer usage, bad chair posture habits, tension, and the way I sleep. Sometimes diving makes it better ( I think it's the concentrating on other things and relaxation,) but once I did get a pretty good tweak getting out of the water on to a small boat. Massage therapy and a visit to the chiropractor usually help, but I know that ab strengthening work would be a good preventative; that takes strain off of your back muscles. Yoga is a good way to stretch and strengthen.

 

[Soggy]

Were you diving dry?

I frequently have issues in my neck/shoulders from bending my neck in all sorts of funky ways to get my dry suit seal over my head. Then, walking around with 90 lbs of extra weight on my shoulders and waist probably doesn't help either.

I am 6 feet tall, 145 lbs with pretty strong abs, so I don't think body weight/abdominal strength has anything to do with it.

My neck is still a bit sore from a dive last weekend in Alexandria Bay. I was having issues driving home 'cuz I couldn't turn my head too well.

 

[Scuba Barbie]

No, I wear a neoprene suit, but do have some difficulties getting it over my shoulder blades. Perhaps that is how I strained the muscles. Thanks.

 

[kelpmermaid]

Here is another thought - supporting the weight of the tank and the weight pouches can lead to discomfort. Not that I am giving mine up, but it is a lot of weight to hang off of your shoulders.

 

[Scuba Barbie]

Actually, Sunday I wore a weight belt and Wednesday I wore the integrated BC weight.

I hadn't considered that, thanks.

 

[MightyDiver]

Originally posted by pduncang
I dove Sunday and woke up Monday with pain in my upper back - shoulder area and neck area
I have zero stomach muscles, am overwieght, and Sunday was my first post-cert dive. These could be contributing factors.

Anyone else ever experience this?

Your fitness will definitly contribute but also the human body is not meant to carry that much weight as we do with our diving gear. I had pain in my neck and shoulder blade areas after fighting with the tank and BC that didn't fit me properly in the pool during OW classes. After I got my properly sized BC that no longer occured UNLESS I wore my equipment down to the water. Now I put on and take off my gear in the water and no more pain.

I'm sorry you're hurting. I hope you heal quickly and find preventative measures.

 

[scubabunny]

I think diving is kind of like skiing...you end up using muscles you didn't know were there, and they end up sore. But, it sounds like you "pinched a nerve" as my mom would say. I've done that putting on my BC and tank on a boat. also while trying to reach behing the car seat...something about reach back and up i guess. I've mainly gotten one donning gear, so if you can get your buddy to help you with you it helps alot.

I have no idea what a "pinched nerve" is axactly...but man, I hate them! One of the best exercises I've found to help one is...sit in a chair knees apart, rest you elbows on your knees and keep your hand limp and just touching between them. put your head down, spread your shoulder blades and arch your back as much as you can stand...you can feel where the muscles or nerves are tense so streatch them a bit..but not to the point of painful of course. This works for me....with a little help from ibuprophen!!

 

[Scuba Barbie]

This advice has been very helpful!

 

[tracydr]

I am a doctor and also recovering from neck surgery/C7 fracture. If you want some exercises email me and I'll tell you what I do for PT. The most helpful thing I've found is my physioball which I sit on at the computer, bounce up and down on while watching tv and am now very slowly adding abs/back stretching exercises to the routine. Sounds to me like you may either have some arthritis or a mild herniated disk in your neck. The symptoms are similar to what I started with before I got really bad and needed surgery. (the fracture came 4 months AFTER the surgery but thats another story) Anyway, the neurosurgeon thinks it's the extension that we tend to hold our neck in while diving and looking forward (because neutral would have you looking at the floor if you are horizontal) This makes sense because when I started to get really bad was after snorkeling in a lake with lots of rocky overhangs that I was watching because I had bonked my head at the beginning of my swim. Plus, I could reproduce my numbness,tingling and pain by putting my head back.
Fitness will be your friend if you want to enjoy diving, not to mention enjoying the rest of your life. You must find the time to exercise (strength and aerobic fitness) each and everyday or you will find that you get worse as you get older. Happy diving and welcome to the sport! Tracy