Repetitive Squeezes

[DDD-3]

I’m now facing an issues it never occurred before but now it seems a constant problem with my dives.


I have been Freediving for the first year up to 60m and no issues whatsoever.

I then stopped due work for about one year and I got back in the water in January 2018.


After the first week I was at 53m and there I got my first squeeze.

One month later I was back in the water and I got another squeeze at 48m. (Trachea squeeze)

Another month later I was at 65 and I got another squeeze.( trachea squeeze) I lost the mouth fill and I tried to equalized anyway.( I know now it’s a big mistake)


I then changed the depth. I was training mouthfill and monofin with dives at 30m. Some FRC dives some dives with packing.


Since then I got another two squeezes. Very mild with almost no visible blood but the saliva was orangish.


In the beginning I thought my body was missing depth adaptation but now I start to be worried about it.


Does anyone have some ideas about what I should focus and work on to overcome this problem?


Thanks

 

[SubSub]

I think the times in between dives seem short, especially if you have repeated problems. You must let the body to heal properly, if you repeat the damage over and over like that... well it’s gonna take longer and longer before you heal properly and in the end you might cause longer lasting damage.

I have to add I’m not a doctor by any means. But I do suggest you to go see one.

 

[DDD-3]

I think the times in between dives seem short, especially if you have repeated problems. You must let the body to heal properly, if you repeat the damage over and over like that... well it’s gonna take longer and longer before you heal properly and in the end you might cause longer lasting damage.

I have to add I’m not a doctor by any means. But I do suggest you to go see one.

Thank you for the suggestions and I did see a doctor, the doc told me it was trache squeeze and to rest 2 weeks. Both time I saw the doctor the outcome was the same.

 

[Nathan Vinski]

Hey..

The main issue that you are probably having is under-estimating how much adaptation you can loose with 1 year of not diving. Also, getting to 60m in such a short time (1 year) is actually quite dangerous. While its possible to achieve these depths due to having a good breath hold and quickly learning mouthfill, this doesn't mean it is a good idea. It takes years of adaptation do develop the bloodshift to a level where 60, and even 40, becomes a safe number.

With consistent diving, in the short term (1 year), its possible to get to 60 without suffering squeezes but if you take 1 whole year off diving you will basically be starting at zero. After just 4-6 weeks out of the water most people will spend a couple weeks in the 30s before attempting anything past 40. If you were back at 53 within a week that would be the same as taking a complete beginner just after finishing their intro course down to 50m and expecting them not to squeeze.

In your Jan 2018 -> present timeline you have had 5 (mentioned) squeezes. When talking about squeezes some people are fast healers, and some heal slowly. If you are a slow healer you might not be fully recovered. Now, I don't know exactly what volume of spit-up blood we are talking about here, but in the case that its more than just a single strand/ speckle of blood and you are having medium sized squeezes there is a high possibility that you aren't fully healing and developing scar tissue that is easy to re-squeeze.

Based on your "timeline", 1 year of diving, 1 year of no diving, and then doing 53 within 1 week, and 65 in 2 months.. Yes, your body is 100% missing adaptation to depth.

I would recommend that you take some time off, at least 2 weeks, and then see a doctor and have them check that your lung are clear of any type of infection or left over blood. If your lung appear to be clean then get back to diving.

Your initial training should be at depths that are above your residual volume, or maximum 30m. Spend some time (1 month) doing loads of repeats and long dives with hangs at depth (25-30m) to allow your blood shift to improve and regain some confidence that you won't squeeze (a major cause for squeezing is also being worried that you might squeeze and regaining that confidence cannot be overlooked). When you've spent more time than you probably wanted to at 30 then you can start adding 2-3m per session until where ever you can get to.. or you can take a more sustainable approach.

Personally I think that mastering a certain depth before moving on is undervalued way to much. My personal plan if I was in your shoes would be to spend 1 month not passing 30, then 1 month at maximum 40, then **at least 1 month at 50, and so on... This would be the safest thing to do and would most likely get the greatest results in the long run.

Finally, until you are running into issues with equalization and need to use FRC dive to practice this just completely avoid FRC diving. Even doing FRC warmups will increase your chances of squeezing on a deep inhale dive. FRC diving should really only be used if you plan on ONLY diving at FRC, or you are dedicating training periods for equalization practice.

 

[DDD-3]

Hey Nathan,

Thank you for the very comprehensive reply.

On the attached pictures there is the amount of blood I had during the 65m dive (pic with more blood) and the last but one at 30m. On the very last squeeze I couldn’t almost see blood in the spit but I felt the “water during exhale, lungs check”. Then I checked more accurately and I saw some very light orange shadows.

Do you think that some dry training could also help? Sometimes I don’t have acces to the ocean.

Thanks a lot
Cheers

 

[Nathan Vinski]

Hey Nathan,

Thank you for the very comprehensive reply.

On the attached pictures there is the amount of blood I had during the 65m dive (pic with more blood) and the last but one at 30m. On the very last squeeze I couldn’t almost see blood in the spit but I felt the “water during exhale, lungs check”. Then I checked more accurately and I saw some very light orange shadows.

Do you think that some dry training could also help? Sometimes I don’t have acces to the ocean.

Thanks a lot
Cheers

Based on the pictures I would be inclined to say that the squeeze is most likely deeper than trachea, probably not aviolar but is still somwhere in the upper lungs (brochi). The second picture would still be considered a medium sized squeeze and if it occurred at 30 is most likely due to it not healing properly.

Again I would advise waiting at least 2 weeks, and then seeing a doctor, this prevents them from "handing out" a diagnosis, and then finding the exact location or confirming that it is fully healed.

In terms of dry exercises, to be done only when healing is confirmed, you can do diaphragm and intercostal stretchs. (There are already some deeperblue threads detailing this). Also, when training dry static you can mix up lung volumes, sometimes on inhale, sometimes on FRC, and some sessions of full exhale. This will translate really well into more relaxaed muscles below RV and can even help train the dive response, blood shift included, all of which will help protect against squeeze. I will make note that it's important to still do inhale training (if you choose to train dry) so that you don't become uncomfortable with that lung volume, as you still start deep dives at high LV.

 

[DDD-3]

Thanks a lot for all the info

 

[DDD-3]

Sorry, just one more question.

For the next two weeks before the full recovery do you think I should avoid any kind of training ( pool, dry, running, workouts)? Or shall I do some light training in order to keep the scars elasticity ( just a thoughts not sure it makes sense in Freediving ) but in other competitive sports you aim to keep moving during healing process.

Thanks

 

[Nathan Vinski]

Sorry, just one more question.

For the next two weeks before the full recovery do you think I should avoid any kind of training ( pool, dry, running, workouts)? Or shall I do some light training in order to keep the scars elasticity ( just a thoughts not sure it makes sense in Freediving ) but in other competitive sports you aim to keep moving during healing process.

Thanks

Considering it's a repetitive issue I would avoid any exercise for at least 2 weeks up until you get checked out and confirmed to be clean by a doctor.

Mucous tissue (the lungs) shouldn't scar and letting them heal properly allows the scar tissue to be metabolised and replaced by normal lung tissue. If they are continuously strained the scar tissue won't be replaced and will stay there as a weak spot in the lungs.

 

[DDD-3]

Exellent!! Thank you very much for all the details.

I really appreciate your support and the sharing of knowledge.