Compression arthralgia is pain in the joints caused by exposure to high ambient pressure at a relatively high rate of compression, experienced by

underwater divers This is a list of underwater divers whose exploits have made them notable. Underwater divers are people who take part in underwater diving activities – Underwater diving is practiced as part of an occupation, or for recreation, where t ...

. Also referred to in the

U.S. Navy Diving Manual The ''U.S. Navy Diving Manual'' is a book used by the US Navy for diver training and diving operations. Overview The US Navy first provided a diving manual for training and operational guidance in 1905, and the first book titled ''Diving Manu ...

as compression pains. Compression arthralgia has been recorded as deep aching pain in the knees, shoulders, fingers, back, hips, neck and ribs. Pain may be sudden and intense in onset and may be accompanied by a feeling of roughness in the joints. Onset commonly occurs around 60 msw (meters of sea water), and symptoms are variable depending on depth, compression rate and personal susceptibility. Intensity increases with depth and may be aggravated by exercise. Compression arthralgia is generally a problem of deep diving, particularly deep

saturation diving Saturation diving is diving for periods long enough to bring all tissues into equilibrium with the partial pressures of the inert components of the breathing gas used. It is a diving mode that reduces the number of decompressions divers working ...

, where at sufficient depth even slow compression may produce symptoms. Peter B. Bennett et al. (1974) found that the use of trimix could reduce the symptoms. Fast compression (descent) may produce symptoms as shallow as 30 msw. Saturation divers generally compress much more slowly, and symptoms are unlikely at less than around 90 msw. At depths beyond 180m even very slow compression may produce symptoms. Spontaneous improvement may occur over time at depth, but this is unpredictable, and pain may persist into decompression. Symptoms may be distinguished from decompression sickness as they are present before starting decompression, and resolve with decreasing pressure, the opposite of decompression sickness. The pain may be sufficiently severe to limit the diver's capacity for work, and may also limit travel rate and depth of downward excursions. Compression pain can be distinguished from decompression sickness pain because compression pain occurs during descent and resolves during ascent, while decompression sickness occurs during or after ascent.

Mechanism

The mechanism of compression arthralgia is not known.

Treatment

The symptoms generally resolve during decompression and require no further treatment.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Compression arthralgia Diving medicine Effects of external causes