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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Can Mild Decompression Sickness Cause Shoulder Pain After Underwater Diving?

I went scuba diving today. Dove with a fellow who had NITOX (I was on normal dive air). We used his dive computer to calculate or safety/decompression stops. Too fast for my air mix maybe?I feel fine, except my upper back/shoulder is really sore/achy.Could this be mild decompression sickness? If so, will this resolve itself with time?
Tue, 18 Oct 2022
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Anesthesiologist,  's  Response
Hi,

You seem to be suffering from decompression sickness (DCS).DCS is a condition in which gas bubbles that form while diving do not have adequate time to be resorbed or “off-gassed.” This results in bubble entrapment in specific regions of the body, most commonly in joints such as the shoulder.

All decompression sickness cases should have initial treatment with 100% oxygen until HBO therapy is available. The treatment of DCS is with 100% oxygen, followed by recompression in a hyperbaric chamber. The goal in treatment of DCS is nitrogen washout. Initial management should include placing the patient on 100% oxygen via a non-rebreather mask, regardless of their oxygen saturation on pulse oximetry.

Adequate hydration to treat dehydration is recommended. Recompression in a hyperbaric chamber is the treatment of choice. Please do consult a physician and give the details of your symptoms and ask for hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

Take care. Hope I have answered your question. Let me know if I can assist you further.

Regards,
Dr. Pallavi M., Anesthesiologist
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Can Mild Decompression Sickness Cause Shoulder Pain After Underwater Diving?

Hi, You seem to be suffering from decompression sickness (DCS).DCS is a condition in which gas bubbles that form while diving do not have adequate time to be resorbed or “off-gassed.” This results in bubble entrapment in specific regions of the body, most commonly in joints such as the shoulder. All decompression sickness cases should have initial treatment with 100% oxygen until HBO therapy is available. The treatment of DCS is with 100% oxygen, followed by recompression in a hyperbaric chamber. The goal in treatment of DCS is nitrogen washout. Initial management should include placing the patient on 100% oxygen via a non-rebreather mask, regardless of their oxygen saturation on pulse oximetry. Adequate hydration to treat dehydration is recommended. Recompression in a hyperbaric chamber is the treatment of choice. Please do consult a physician and give the details of your symptoms and ask for hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Take care. Hope I have answered your question. Let me know if I can assist you further. Regards, Dr. Pallavi M., Anesthesiologist