Decompression Sickness Quiz

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Reviewed By:

Maxwell J. Nanes, DO

Maxwell J. Nanes, DO (Emergency department)

Dr Nanes received a doctorate from the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine and went on to complete a residency in emergency medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin. There he trained at Froedtert Hospital and Children's Hospital of Wisconsin in the practice of adult and pediatric emergency medicine. He was a chief resident and received numerous awards for teaching excellence during his time there. | | After residency he took a job at a community hospital where he and his colleagues worked through the toughest days of the COVID-19 pandemic. |

Yoshinori Abe, MD

Yoshinori Abe, MD (Internal medicine)

Dr. Abe graduated from The University of Tokyo School of Medicine in 2015. He completed his residency at the Tokyo Metropolitan Health and Longevity Medical Center. He co-founded Ubie, Inc. in May 2017, where he currently serves as CEO & product owner at Ubie. Since December 2019, he has been a member of the Special Committee for Activation of Research in Emergency AI of the Japanese Association for Acute Medicine. | | Dr. Abe has been elected in the 2020 Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia Healthcare & Science category.

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People with similar symptoms also use Ubie's symptom checker to find possible causes

  • Leg muscle pain

  • Burning sensation in the muscles

  • Pain in the abdominal muscles

  • Have knee pain

  • My muscles are sore

  • Joint pain migrates

  • Pain in the stomach muscle

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Learn more about Decompression sickness

Content updated on Sep 20, 2022

What is decompression sickness?

Decompression sickness (also called "the bends") refers to problems caused by a rapid decrease in surrounding pressure (either air or water). This causes gases to dangerously shift out of the bloodstream. It most commonly occurs during scuba diving when surfacing too quickly. Rarely, it can happen in airplanes, typically in military pilots traveling at high speeds through upper and lower atmosphere layers.

Symptoms of decompression sickness

  • Muscle pain

  • Joint pain even when resting

  • Joint pain

  • Pain across the entire body

  • Knee pain

  • Pain in the knuckles or finger joints

  • Headache

  • Arm pain

Questions your doctor may ask to check for decompression sickness

Your doctor may ask these questions to diagnose decompression sickness

  • Do you have any muscle pain?

  • Do you have joint pain even when you are at rest?

  • Do you have any joint pain?

  • Do you have pain all over the body?

  • Do you have pain in the knee(s)

Treatment for decompression sickness

Emergency treatment for decompression sickness involves maintaining blood pressure, administering oxygen and fluids. The person should be placed on their left side with the head of the bed tilted down. Hyperbaric oxygen chambers are often used to drive the unwanted gases back into the bloodstream.

View the symptoms of Decompression sickness

References

  • Sun Q, Gao G. Decompression Sickness. N Engl J Med. 2017 Oct 19;377(16):1568. doi: 10.1056/NEJMicm1615505. PMID: 29045210.

    https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMicm1615505

  • Mahon RT, Regis DP. Decompression and decompression sickness. Compr Physiol. 2014 Jul;4(3):1157-75. doi: 10.1002/cphy.c130039. PMID: 24944033.

    https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cphy.c130039

User testimonials

Reviewed By:

Maxwell J. Nanes, DO

Maxwell J. Nanes, DO (Emergency department)

Dr Nanes received a doctorate from the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine and went on to complete a residency in emergency medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin. There he trained at Froedtert Hospital and Children's Hospital of Wisconsin in the practice of adult and pediatric emergency medicine. He was a chief resident and received numerous awards for teaching excellence during his time there. | | After residency he took a job at a community hospital where he and his colleagues worked through the toughest days of the COVID-19 pandemic. |

Yoshinori Abe, MD

Yoshinori Abe, MD (Internal medicine)

Dr. Abe graduated from The University of Tokyo School of Medicine in 2015. He completed his residency at the Tokyo Metropolitan Health and Longevity Medical Center. He co-founded Ubie, Inc. in May 2017, where he currently serves as CEO & product owner at Ubie. Since December 2019, he has been a member of the Special Committee for Activation of Research in Emergency AI of the Japanese Association for Acute Medicine. | | Dr. Abe has been elected in the 2020 Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia Healthcare & Science category.

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