Scuba Diving: a therapeutic tool for those with spinal cord injuries

A recent preliminary study in the U.S. has shed light on the benefits scuba diving may have as a therapeutic aid for physically disabled people with spinal cord injuries. The pilot research was conducted in Orlando, Florida and its results were presented last Saturday at the Paralized Veterans of America conference.

The research was carried out with a small study group of 10 wheelchair-dependent veterans who had in the past suffered severe spinal cord injuries an average 15 years earlier. For the purpose of the research, all study group members learned to scuba dive and obtained scuba diving certification.

Pre-dive tests were conducted in order to check participants' motor control, muscle spasticity, sensitivity to light touch and pinpricks as well as obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms. Out of the 10 veterans who embarked on scuba diving adventures for the purpose of the study, 8 of them managed to complete the programme.

The study also included 9 health controls who served as dive buddies to the disabled veteran scuba divers.

After the test-diving, researches found an average 15 per cent decrease in muscle spasticity among participants, as well as an average 10 per cent increase in light-touch sensitivity and an average 5 per cent increase in sensitivity to pinprick. In the control group, no participant experienced any neurological change.

"What we saw in the water strongly suggests there is some scuba-facilitated restoration of neurological and psychological function in paraplegics," study co-author Dr. Adam Kaplin stated in a news release. Kaplin is an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral services at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore.

The studies also showed how scuba diving had an effect on the mental state of participant as post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms decreased an average 80 per cent, all of which could not be attributed to the fact that the training for scuba diving took place in a lovely Caribbean setting. The experts revealed that the results had little to do with the fact that they were scuba diving in the Caribbean, although such crystalline, warm waters also no doubt contributed to veterans's experienced being enhanced.

Long considered one of the best scuba diving destinations in the world, the Caribbean holds many underwater surprises for divers, such as the world's second largest coral reef system in Cuba and pristine conditions ensuring clear vision and colourful encounters with a varied array of fascinating marine creatures.