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Q:
I’ve just finished a week of heavy diving, and
many in our group have scheduled massages
for the afternoon of our last day at the resort.
Is it possible a deep-tissue massage could lead to an
increased risk of decompression sickness?
A:
Massage has not been clearly associated with any
cases of decompression sickness (DCS) in which
DAN has been involved, and we are not aware
of any study done to address this question. The simplest
piece of advice is that postdive deep-tissue massage
should probably be
avoided so the risk of
diagnostic confusion
is minimized. Deep-
tissue massage, like
exercise, has the potential to cause soreness in tissues
and joints that may be similar to symptoms of DCS. Such
diagnostic uncertainty can cause significant anxiety, lead
to unnecessary hyperbaric chamber treatment and, most
dangerously, result in divers ignoring actual symptoms of
DCS, believing them to have resulted from the massage.
A more speculative and purely theoretical concern is
the risk of bubble micronuclei development. The nature
and action of micronuclei have not been confirmed, but
it is believed they are the seeds from which bubbles form.
Tissue stimulation could increase blood flow, which may
either enhance elimination of gas from tissues or precipitate
problematic bubble formation. There is no clear sense of
what massage might do, and this effect would likely vary
depending on dive profiles and intensity of the massage.
Conservative depth/time profiles are the most reliable way
to mitigate DCS risk.
— John U. Lee
www.alertdiver.com
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43
ASK US!
The DAN Medical Information Line is
here to answer all your dive-related
medical questions. You can reach the
medical staff during regular business
hours (Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.
to 5 p.m. ET) by calling
+1-919-684-
2948, ext. 222
. You can also submit an
email at www.DAN.org.
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