Is there a better way to deal with the cold?

[seattlethought]

I don't mind getting frightfully cold - so long as by the next day there are no ill effects.

But - I have a lot of trouble with the muscles around my neck and shoulders. I went diving Thursday last week and after a month of my neck being fairly relaxed (a pleasant rarity for me) I have been very tight/tense ever since.

I don't want to be a fair weather diver, but will have to be if I don't find some kind of relief.


... maybe I just need to do it 20 more times till my body decides it isn't worth reacting to. :P

[Nwbrewer]

Are you sure it's the cold that's doing it to you? How many dives do you have?

[Grateful Diver]

I don't mind getting frightfully cold - so long as by the next day there are no ill effects.

But - I have a lot of trouble with the muscles around my neck and shoulders. I went diving Thursday last week and after a month of my neck being fairly relaxed (a pleasant rarity for me) I have been very tight/tense ever since.

I don't want to be a fair weather diver, but will have to be if I don't find some kind of relief.


... maybe I just need to do it 20 more times till my body decides it isn't worth reacting to. :P

Part of it's the fact that you're fairly new at it, and using muscles that need to get more exercise.

The other part of it's the wetsuit ... getting a drysuit is the only way to go if you're intent on diving here on a regular basis.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[BDub]

I don't mind getting frightfully cold - so long as by the next day there are no ill effects.

But - I have a lot of trouble with the muscles around my neck and shoulders. I went diving Thursday last week and after a month of my neck being fairly relaxed (a pleasant rarity for me) I have been very tight/tense ever since.

I don't want to be a fair weather diver, but will have to be if I don't find some kind of relief.


... maybe I just need to do it 20 more times till my body decides it isn't worth reacting to. :P

I'm not sure it's the cold.....

Like Bob said, your muscles need to get used to the new "exercise" and movements. There's a lot of weight to carry and it's very easy to let your traps and lower neck shoulder the load (no pun intended).

I've been having neck issues for a while, and while they've been improving a lot lately, I am still quite sore after diving.

[LCF]

I had a lot of trouble with my neck and shoulders when I first started diving. One of the things that helped me a lot was not using the weight integration in my BC. By putting 20 lbs on my waist instead of hanging them from my shoulders, I was much more comfortable.

Over time, the muscles built up, and now it takes walking in my doubles to get me that sore.

[nwbobber]

My wife was having trouble with her shoulders and neck. Then she was having trouble with her dry suit. Loosening the straps on her bp/w solved both problems.
Bob

[seattlethought]

This is good news to hear. I can handle "do it more, the problem ought to go away".

wetsuit/drysuit... meh, not at least till fall.

crap, been over a week since I went diving now, time to get on the bandwagon.

[diver-dad]

...I don't mind getting frightfully cold - so long as by the next day there are no ill effects..

seattlethought -

Good advice above, but I'd like to share my thoughts FWIW ...

I think you're right to be concerned - beyond just the discomfort of being cold... with loss of body heat (as you learned in your OW course): coordination drops off, thinking becomes clouded, and you are more suspetible to DCS.

A little cool is fine, but "frightfully cold" definately isn't...

The last time I dove wet in Puget Sound was Jan '07 - and I found hypothermia is a really sneaky thing! - A big lesson learned by me! ... I didn't realize how cold I had gotten in the 45 degree water until after the safety stop at the end of the dive. But even then, I just felt a little chilled, esp on my forearms and my hands were a little stiff, but not bad. Everything seemed to be working OK. However, when I got on the dive boat, the shivers set in and I called the second dive because there was no way I could get warm.

(Shortly after that, I got my dry suit - very happy diving dry!.)

Hope this helps!