The ‘Bends‘ happens in 2.8 out of 10,000 dives, but where does the expression come from?
Whether you’re a seasoned scuba diver or a notice, you should ‘ve come across the concept of decompression sickness. But why is decompression sickness called the bends?
Why is decompression sickness called the bends? Decompression sickness is called the bends because afflicted divers characteristically bend forward at the hips due to the joint and bone pain it causes. The bends is caused by gases like nitrogen coming out of solution in the form of bubbles, which is usually a result of a fast ascent or missed decompression stops.
The best way to do more diving buy by avoiding the bends of course, is to book yourself on a scuba diving liveaboard. You can check the latest and best deals on liveaboards using the following window:
What is decompression sickness or the bends?
Decompression sickness (DCS), which is also known as divers’ disease or the bends, describes the condition that affects scuba divers.
The condition arises from dissolved gases (mostly nitrogen) coming out of solution, forming into bubbles inside the body on depressurisation.
This can occur on an ascent from a dive. But it usually only happens due to a rapid ascent from depth. Or if a scuba diver misses a decompression stop on their ascent.
How many divers are affected by decompression sickness?
Whilst the incidence of decompression sickness is rare, world-wide it’s estimated that there are around 2.8 cases per 10,000 dives. But research shows that the risk for male scuba divers is 2.6 times greater than for female scuba divers.
According to the Divers Alert Network (DAN), decompression sickness occurs in approximately 1,000 U.S. scuba divers each year.
Why is decompression sickness also called the bends in more detail?
Whilst we know what decompression sickness is, why is it also called the bends?
It was Andrew Smith who first used the term “caisson disease“, which was the term used to describe 110 cases of decompression sickness. Smith was the physician who was in charge of the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge. It was here that these cases of caisson disease occurred.
This project employed 600 around ‘compressed air workers‘. But for them recompression treatment wasn’t used. This in turn is what caused the high numbers of decompression sickness in these divers.
It was during this project that decompression sickness became known as “The Grecian Bends” or simply “the bends“. The reason for the term “The Bends” was because the afflicted individuals characteristically bent forward at the hips. This was as a result of the joint pain cause from the formation of bubbles in the joints.
But the term ‘the bends‘ was so used due to a then popular women’s fashion dance manoeuvre known as the Grecian Bend. The Grecian bend was a term which was first applied to a stooped posture, which became fashionable in around 1820. At the time the “bend” was considered to be very daring!
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Article written by Russell Bowyer who has been a scuba diver since diving on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia in 1989. After his first dive he trained as a BSAC diver in the UK. He attained his Diver Leader certification with BSAC. He then went on to become a scuba diving instructor, teaching others how to dive and was voted as Diving Officer and Treasurer for the Saffron Walden BSAC club too. Russell has dived all over the world, including the UK, on liveaboards in the Red Sea, the Caribbean, South Africa and the USA. Russell is experienced in all dive types, including drift diving, deep dives that involved decompression stops and recreational dives too.
