Dive Medicine: Pain-Proof Your Back

Hauling bags, schlepping gear, swimming with a tank on your spine - it can all be torture on your back. Take the dive doc's prescription for deep-sixing muscle pain before it starts.

By Samuel Shelanski, M.D.

Preparing for a dive trip can make you feel more like a packhorse than an adventurer. Surrounded by bags of dive gear, hard cases full of cameras and one or two articles of clothing, inter-island airline baggage limitations make you laugh - then cry.

But extra baggage fees aren't the only price you pay. Dragging, carrying and pulling all that equipment can be torture on your back. Fortunately, a few simple tips can help reduce the wear and tear that can make a dive vacation more pain than pleasure.

My Back Still Hurts: Should I Dive? | Back-Stretching Exercise

Symptom: You went to lift that oversized gear bag in baggage claim and wham! A bolt of pain shot through your lower back.

Diagnosis: Bad ergonomics. The mechanics of how you lift an object are very important in reducing back strain and injury. It boils down to using the right muscles for the job.

Rx: You've heard it a thousand times: "Lift with your legs, not your back," and it's worth repeating a thousand more. The muscles of the legs are much stronger than those of the back, and less prone to injury from lifting. When you need to lift a heavy object, squat next to the object and lift using your legs. Never bend over an object or try to lift from the waist.

Illustration by Mike Gushock

Exercising Prevention Packing light and lifting correctly can help reduce the chance of back injury, but strengthening and building flexibility in the back muscles is even more important. Stretching exercises will go a long way toward building a stronger back.

Symptom: You were pulling a tank out of the rack when pow! Now your spine feels like you got hit by a truck.

Diagnosis: Bent out of shape. The natural design of an upright spine allows weight to be distributed evenly and borne by the skeleton. Any weight that exerts force along a different axis than that of the spine must be offset by muscles - and that's when injuries occur. When pulling tanks from a bench-mounted rack, too many divers lean over the tank, bending their spines.

Rx: Straighten up. Rather than leaning over the tank, place one knee on the bench to position your body closer to the tank. This will help keep your back straight. Lift straight up, keeping the tank close to your body. This maximizes the supportive role of your spine and reduces the chance of back strain.

Symptom: You packed light and lifted with your legs, but your back still hurts after a day of travel.

Diagnosis: Bad luggage.

Rx: Wheeled gear bags are a great way to eliminate back strain, but only if the strap or handle is long enough so that you can walk upright while pulling the bag. Backpack-style bags should have a well-padded hip belt to allow transfer of weight from your shoulders and back to the hips. Above all, your bags should be comfortable to use.

Symptom: You were feeling good about helping the crew off-load tanks when sock! Now all you feel is pain.

Diagnosis: An overdeveloped work ethic.

Rx: Relax and let the staff do their job. While the crew will no doubt appreciate the gesture, they'll probably appreciate a word of thanks, and a tip, even more.

If you do need to carry your gear and tank, do it in a way that minimizes back strain. BCs make great tank carriers and they distribute weight evenly across the shoulders. Weight belts? Put them on to transport them.

Symptom: You were getting out of your gear when biff! Your back went out.

Diagnosis: The usual suspect in cases like this is putting rotational stress on the spine that it wasn't designed to take. In other words, you're twisted.

Rx: A little-appreciated method for reducing back strain is to don and doff gear in the water. This eliminates the need for you to bear the weight of the tank, but requires someone on board to do the heavy lifting for you.