Post by LSDeep on Nov 23, 2005 14:36:41 GMT -5
By Charlotte Boan
Most of us have felt the odd twinge of discomfort as we’ve staggered down the beach towards the dive site, but for some divers backache is quite literally a pain in the… back! Charlotte Boan goes in search of a remedy
At least four out of five people will suffer back problems at one stage. It’s the single largest cause of absenteeism in the work place and the second most common reason for a visit to the doctor. It comes as no shock then, that most divers will complain of a slight pain in the back at some point – all we have to do is look at the amount of gear we haul around and some of the awkward positions we find ourselves when getting in and out of boats.
Most back pain is caused by sprains, strains and minor injury, rather than serious damage or disease. Although the pain usually occurs suddenly and one single movement normally triggers it off, the causes may have been building over a period of time. Diving medical expert, Dr Peter Larkin, says the most common contributing factors are poor fitness, incorrect lifting, and bad posture. ‘The vast majority of people who have back problems will not have long-term problems,’ he tells DIVE. ‘Those who do, usually have an abnormality that causes it such as damaged discs and congenital abnormality, or they do not take the advice offered to try to resolve the problem.’
But can a sport such as diving cause back problems? Well, according to Larkin, it’s rare that you will develop a problem as a direct result of diving – it’s more likely that diving will aggravate an existing problem. Lifting, hard and RIB boat diving, kit configurations and posture all figure in this.
Clearly the biggest back burden for divers, Larkin says, is lifting. ‘It is difficult to lift a kit bag and stow it or take it out of a car boot correctly, and putting kit on over your head, for example, puts a huge strain on the back.’ He says that by picking anything up with outstretched arms and not bending the legs can put up to six times more strain on your back.
In the majority of cases back problems will not prevent people from diving provided they follow lifting, posture and exercise advice, says Larkin. There are, however, some extreme cases where divers may have to quit diving because of severe, chronic back problems. ‘There are several reasons why back problems should make you think it’s time to give up. These include, when you are no longer safe to dive because pain interferes with your dive concentration. When you know that the dive will cause pain later. When the dive becomes difficult because you can’t get into the boat or if you have pain that is so extreme it interferes with your non-diving life,’ he says. ‘Back operations may prevent you from diving as well – temporarily in the case of operations such as disc surgery, or permanently after major spinal-fusion surgery.’
Various experts suggest that spinal operations or a slipped disc slightly increases the risk of decompression illness, because bubbles are more likely to affect tissue that is damaged or scarred through injury or surgery. This is probably because of changes in the blood supply to that part of the spine and evidence that bubbles are more likely to form in these areas. Another post-surgery consideration is nerve damage which may cause tingling, loss of sensation or loss of power (all common decompression sickness symptoms). In this case if any problem occurs after a dive, the patient must know what existed beforehand and what might be related to diving. It’s best to consult a doctor or specialist and follow their advice on what to do after any surgery.
For the majority of backpain sufferers, simple measures can be taken to ease pain or prevent problems from happening in the first place. ‘The best way to prevent back and any other musculoskeletal pain is to keep the weight down and exercise regularly to keep fit and strengthen the back muscles,’ advises the doctor. ‘Care with moving kit about before and after a dive should help to reduce strains, and I’m a great believer in regular stretching exercises as well.’
Pain relief...
Kit bag
Lift that oversized kit bag with your legs, not your back! The muscles of the legs are much stronger than those of the back, and less prone to injury from lifting. A dive bag with wheels is a good option, but only if the strap or handle is long enough so that you can walk upright while pulling the bag. If you have a backpack-style bag, make sure it has a well-padded waist belt to transfer the weight from the shoulders to the hips.
Lifting a cylinder
Too many divers lean over the cylinder and bend their spines when lifting one from a rack or a car boot. Don’t lean over it – straighten up. Bend your knees and keep your back straight. Lift straight up, keeping the cylinder close to your body (this will keep it as close to centre of the body’s gravity as possible).
Putting kit on
There are divers out there who insist on lifting their own BCs onto their backs without any help. In the worst-case scenario they could pop a disc doing this, but it’s more likely they will become unbalanced. If you insist on donning the BC yourself, prop the attached cylinder up on a wall or bench to take off some of the strain.
Taking kit off
Allow your BC to slide down slowly – try not to rest all the weight on one side of your body. The best possible way of avoiding any problems is taking it off in the water and handing it to the person on the RIB (but give it a little helping hand up so that those assisting you don’t put too much strain on their backs).
Position when standing with kit on
Don’t stand straight because this will pull you backwards and will not balance out the weight. Lean forward slightly and put the weight in the centre of your body’s gravity, with your legs positioned in the centre to take most of the strain.
Coming up the ladder
The ideal situation is to dive from a boat with a lift. But if you don’t have this luxury, then make sure that when you climb up the ladder you are as close to it as possible. Don’t stretch out your arms – this will put far too much strain on your back and unbalance you. Also, keep your head up and straight dring the climb.
Perfect posture...
Weight
If you have a correctly curved spine a weight belt will balance the weight in the correct area of your body. However, if you suffer from a stiff lower back then this usually means that your spine is not correctly curved. In this situation the cylinder will often push down on the weight belt, making it very uncomfortable. A shoulder weight harness might be better suited.
Cylinders
As long as the cylinder is correctly fitted to your BC and the weight is balanced, it will not make too much difference if you have a single or twin-set system. If carrying lots of cylinders and other bits of kit, always make sure it is evenly balanced and that people are around to help you out with all that weight on the surface.
Recommended back exercises:
Osteopaths, chiropractors and physiotherapists offer a lot of help and specialist advice to those with persisting problems. Swimming, Pilates, yoga and certain back exercises at the gym are often recommended by back specialists as a way of improving your posture and strengthening back muscles. Here are a few simple exercises as suggested by osteopath and diver Tony Carew of Kent-based OSC House (www.osteopathic.co.uk).
Need more advice?
*BackCare is national charity that involves itself in research, education and support of bad back sufferers.
Tel: 020 8977 5474
Web: www.backcare.org.uk
*The Osteopathic Information Service and General Osteopathic Council
Tel: 020 7357 6655
Web: www.osteopathy.org.uk
*Chartered Society of Physiotherapy
Tel: 020 7306 6620
*The Organisation of Chartered Physiotherapists in Private Practice
Tel: 01327 354 441
*British Chiropractic Association
Tel: 0118 950 5950
Web: www.chiropractic-uk.co.uk
*The Scottish Chiropractic Association
Tel: 01835 823 645
*The British Reflexology Association
Tel: 01886 821 207
*The Institute for Complementary Medicine
Tel: 020 7237 5165
Web: www.icmedicine.co.uk
Add this item to your 'My Bookmarks' section of this site
Most of us have felt the odd twinge of discomfort as we’ve staggered down the beach towards the dive site, but for some divers backache is quite literally a pain in the… back! Charlotte Boan goes in search of a remedy
At least four out of five people will suffer back problems at one stage. It’s the single largest cause of absenteeism in the work place and the second most common reason for a visit to the doctor. It comes as no shock then, that most divers will complain of a slight pain in the back at some point – all we have to do is look at the amount of gear we haul around and some of the awkward positions we find ourselves when getting in and out of boats.
Most back pain is caused by sprains, strains and minor injury, rather than serious damage or disease. Although the pain usually occurs suddenly and one single movement normally triggers it off, the causes may have been building over a period of time. Diving medical expert, Dr Peter Larkin, says the most common contributing factors are poor fitness, incorrect lifting, and bad posture. ‘The vast majority of people who have back problems will not have long-term problems,’ he tells DIVE. ‘Those who do, usually have an abnormality that causes it such as damaged discs and congenital abnormality, or they do not take the advice offered to try to resolve the problem.’
But can a sport such as diving cause back problems? Well, according to Larkin, it’s rare that you will develop a problem as a direct result of diving – it’s more likely that diving will aggravate an existing problem. Lifting, hard and RIB boat diving, kit configurations and posture all figure in this.
Clearly the biggest back burden for divers, Larkin says, is lifting. ‘It is difficult to lift a kit bag and stow it or take it out of a car boot correctly, and putting kit on over your head, for example, puts a huge strain on the back.’ He says that by picking anything up with outstretched arms and not bending the legs can put up to six times more strain on your back.
In the majority of cases back problems will not prevent people from diving provided they follow lifting, posture and exercise advice, says Larkin. There are, however, some extreme cases where divers may have to quit diving because of severe, chronic back problems. ‘There are several reasons why back problems should make you think it’s time to give up. These include, when you are no longer safe to dive because pain interferes with your dive concentration. When you know that the dive will cause pain later. When the dive becomes difficult because you can’t get into the boat or if you have pain that is so extreme it interferes with your non-diving life,’ he says. ‘Back operations may prevent you from diving as well – temporarily in the case of operations such as disc surgery, or permanently after major spinal-fusion surgery.’
Various experts suggest that spinal operations or a slipped disc slightly increases the risk of decompression illness, because bubbles are more likely to affect tissue that is damaged or scarred through injury or surgery. This is probably because of changes in the blood supply to that part of the spine and evidence that bubbles are more likely to form in these areas. Another post-surgery consideration is nerve damage which may cause tingling, loss of sensation or loss of power (all common decompression sickness symptoms). In this case if any problem occurs after a dive, the patient must know what existed beforehand and what might be related to diving. It’s best to consult a doctor or specialist and follow their advice on what to do after any surgery.
For the majority of backpain sufferers, simple measures can be taken to ease pain or prevent problems from happening in the first place. ‘The best way to prevent back and any other musculoskeletal pain is to keep the weight down and exercise regularly to keep fit and strengthen the back muscles,’ advises the doctor. ‘Care with moving kit about before and after a dive should help to reduce strains, and I’m a great believer in regular stretching exercises as well.’
Pain relief...
Kit bag
Lift that oversized kit bag with your legs, not your back! The muscles of the legs are much stronger than those of the back, and less prone to injury from lifting. A dive bag with wheels is a good option, but only if the strap or handle is long enough so that you can walk upright while pulling the bag. If you have a backpack-style bag, make sure it has a well-padded waist belt to transfer the weight from the shoulders to the hips.
Lifting a cylinder
Too many divers lean over the cylinder and bend their spines when lifting one from a rack or a car boot. Don’t lean over it – straighten up. Bend your knees and keep your back straight. Lift straight up, keeping the cylinder close to your body (this will keep it as close to centre of the body’s gravity as possible).
Putting kit on
There are divers out there who insist on lifting their own BCs onto their backs without any help. In the worst-case scenario they could pop a disc doing this, but it’s more likely they will become unbalanced. If you insist on donning the BC yourself, prop the attached cylinder up on a wall or bench to take off some of the strain.
Taking kit off
Allow your BC to slide down slowly – try not to rest all the weight on one side of your body. The best possible way of avoiding any problems is taking it off in the water and handing it to the person on the RIB (but give it a little helping hand up so that those assisting you don’t put too much strain on their backs).
Position when standing with kit on
Don’t stand straight because this will pull you backwards and will not balance out the weight. Lean forward slightly and put the weight in the centre of your body’s gravity, with your legs positioned in the centre to take most of the strain.
Coming up the ladder
The ideal situation is to dive from a boat with a lift. But if you don’t have this luxury, then make sure that when you climb up the ladder you are as close to it as possible. Don’t stretch out your arms – this will put far too much strain on your back and unbalance you. Also, keep your head up and straight dring the climb.
Perfect posture...
Weight
If you have a correctly curved spine a weight belt will balance the weight in the correct area of your body. However, if you suffer from a stiff lower back then this usually means that your spine is not correctly curved. In this situation the cylinder will often push down on the weight belt, making it very uncomfortable. A shoulder weight harness might be better suited.
Cylinders
As long as the cylinder is correctly fitted to your BC and the weight is balanced, it will not make too much difference if you have a single or twin-set system. If carrying lots of cylinders and other bits of kit, always make sure it is evenly balanced and that people are around to help you out with all that weight on the surface.
Recommended back exercises:
Osteopaths, chiropractors and physiotherapists offer a lot of help and specialist advice to those with persisting problems. Swimming, Pilates, yoga and certain back exercises at the gym are often recommended by back specialists as a way of improving your posture and strengthening back muscles. Here are a few simple exercises as suggested by osteopath and diver Tony Carew of Kent-based OSC House (www.osteopathic.co.uk).
Need more advice?
*BackCare is national charity that involves itself in research, education and support of bad back sufferers.
Tel: 020 8977 5474
Web: www.backcare.org.uk
*The Osteopathic Information Service and General Osteopathic Council
Tel: 020 7357 6655
Web: www.osteopathy.org.uk
*Chartered Society of Physiotherapy
Tel: 020 7306 6620
*The Organisation of Chartered Physiotherapists in Private Practice
Tel: 01327 354 441
*British Chiropractic Association
Tel: 0118 950 5950
Web: www.chiropractic-uk.co.uk
*The Scottish Chiropractic Association
Tel: 01835 823 645
*The British Reflexology Association
Tel: 01886 821 207
*The Institute for Complementary Medicine
Tel: 020 7237 5165
Web: www.icmedicine.co.uk
Add this item to your 'My Bookmarks' section of this site