Massage after Scuba Diving – is it safe?

Who doesn’t love getting a massage while on vacation on a tropical island? It is a relaxing, muscularly soothing way to completely unwind and relieve physical or emotional tension. But if you’re on a scuba diving vacation, is it safe to get a massage after finishing a dive?

The concern is that getting a massage could increase your risk of decompression sickness. As Divers Alert Network explains on its website: “During a dive, body tissues absorb nitrogen from the breathing gas in proportion to the surrounding pressure.

As long as the diver remains pressurized, the gas presents no problem. However, if the pressure drops too quickly, the nitrogen comes out of solution and forms bubbles in the tissues and bloodstream. This often occurs by violating or getting too close to the limits of the dive table, but it can also occur even when accepted guidelines are followed. »This is the final part explored by DAN and other researchers – identifying risks that could cause MDD. Is massage one of the risks?

“We should note that massage has not been confidently associated with any of the cases of MDD that have come to us, and we are not aware of any studies to answer this question,” says Nick Bird, M.D., of Miscellaneous Alert Network. “The clearest advice is that deep tissue massage should probably be avoided, so that the potential for post-dive pain and diagnostic confusion is minimized.”

As Dr. Bird notes, and as far as I know, there is no research showing a cause and effect relationship between massage and decompression sickness. The slight possible exception might be the massage technique known as Rolfing – an aggressive deep tissue massage – or other similar assaults occurring under high N2 load. Anything resembling a usual soothing massage during a dive trip seems extremely unlikely to play a direct role in an MDD event. However, it could indirectly play a role in that lying down or becoming sedentary shortly after diving impairs circulation in the tissues and therefore the elimination of inert gases.

In the event that there is a significant residual nitrogen load (e.g. multiple dives over multiple days, deco dives) and the diver experiences very vigorous musculoskeletal manipulation near the last dive, this could theoretically contribute to MDD thanks to the formation of microbubbles. These microbubbles serve as the seed or nucleus for bubble formation and expansion. However, this remains entirely conjectural.

Far more concerning than massage for the risk of MDD is taking a nap or placing a heavy load on the knee or hip joints (e.g., climbing ladders on the boat with weights or a bottle Diving).

Note: This is educational only and does not constitute or imply a doctor-patient relationship. This is not medical advice to you or any other person, and should not be construed as such.

DocVikingo has been certified for over 35 years and has dived all over the world. He practices medicine in the Baltimore/Washington, D.C. area and has held faculty positions at several major hospitals, including Johns Hopkins. With an interest in diving medicine, he is an administrator at Scuba Clinic Online.

Source: sportdiver.com