contractions at depth : relaxation vs tension

[Tommy_R]

Hi,

i am currently trying to find out what the main reason for my squeeze problems here in our cold lake is.

at this point i am very sure the main reason are my contractions because they start earlier in cold water and are very strong.

I did some tests on frc and realized when i try to tense my abs at the same time as my contractions happen, i prevent the diaphragm from pulling in too much and i don't have lung problems this way.
The downside for me is : it is very exhausting to work against the contractions .
Still when i just try to relax 100% i feel good during the dive - but my lungs are slightly filling due to my strong contractions.( very few occasions where i spit blood but i hear the sound when i forcefully exhale )

Is this way of dealing with contractions something i can and should train or does it make no sense and i just have to spend more time and get better adjusted for depth?

Or should i try to do a different breath up to just avoid contractions until i am at a safe depth ?

Tommy

btw : i am talking about 20-30m FRC dives and 45-50m Dives as my "deep" dives but it is in 4 degree water from 8m downwards which makes it a lot harder for me.

 

[cdavis]

Hi Tommy,

Thanks for your help a while back, maybe I can return the favor.

I don't full lung dive much and never to 50 m, so I'll not comment on that.

For frc diving, what you are doing sounds wrong. In my experience, being totally relaxed is the way to go and come up before contractions begin. I can generally feel one coming and put it off long enough to get back to a lessor depth. A contraction at depth on frc will get me squeezed almost every time. Tensing my abs would make it much worse (personal experiance). I arrange my breathup to carry a relatively high c02 level down with me and that, with practice, seems to minimize contractions and especially make them very small.

For frc diving, physiological adaptation of the lungs is critical and it takes a lot of diving/practice over a long period of time. The interesting thing is it doesn't seem to require diving deep. Lots of 15 m dives, for me, promote ability to dive frc beyond 30 m. Not sure why that is, but it works.

Could be wrong, but it sounds like you need to work on how to put your contractions off till later in the dive and make them less intense.

Fair warning, getting squeezed can lead to progressive damage, longer and longer recovery periods, general scary hassle. Apparently some divers get away with it, but not me.

Connor

 

[Tommy_R]

hmm ... ok that is what i thought before getting squeezes even on shallower dives.

But when i am completely relaxed my contractions are incredible strong thats the problem.
And i don't want to tune my breathup because i want to do deeper dives in the future and i am more scared of a blackout than a squeeze - i'd prefer getting the contractions because they don't bother me ( like in statics ) in deep dives exept for the squeeze problem.

Still it seems there is noone trying to make contractions easier on the lungs by contracting abs so i might be wrong.
In my tests i could do 25m frc dives with a hang until contractions and get maybe 2 contractions ( with ab tension to make them softer ) without lung problems.
When i do the same on inhale (30m in the test ) and completely relaxed i get squeezed from my contractions -thats why i asked.

I only have a buddy one time a week so i did one dive session with 10 frc dives and another with 10 inhales with the results i mentioned above.( 2 warmup hangs in each session)

Tommy

 

[cdavis]

If there is anything I've learned on this site, its that everybody is incredibly different. What works for one may not work at all for another. If contracting your abs helps, great.

Seems to me that figuring out how to put your contractions off and/or make them small would be a good strategy. HV will put them off, with obvious negatives along with it. Scratch that one. Getting your DR to kick in early and strong should work. Early blood shift maximizes blood in the core and, by definition, dilutes the co2 being produced in the core, also keeps c02 from the muscles from getting to the co2 sensors, both effects putting off contractions. How best for you personally to do that will take some experimentation.

For me, kicking in blood shift early means carrying down a relatively high level of co2. The last part of my breathup is so minimal that I'm on the edge of a conscious urge to breathe, not quite there, but close. Going under like that helps blood shift start almost immediately and that keeps c02 in the core low longer than a full lung dive, putting them off some. Diving 1/2 lung makes the contractions that do come so minimal that I hardly notice the first 20 seconds or so. The exact technique may not work for you, but think about how to apply the concept.

Keep us posted on your progress, I'm curious to find out what will work for you.

Connor