Ideas about bends have changed from the concept that a bubble formed in the nervous system or the joint by cavitation-negative pressure. Rapid ascent or joint motion caused the culprit to appear and pressure would make the bubble go away. Now we are treating tissue damage with oxygen. But, we are still using pressure and oxygen to increase the partial pressure of oxygen in the affected tissue. The treatment of choice is the 5 hour long USN Treatment Table 6 which washes out the nitrogen in the tissue and washes in the oxygen. Careful understanding of how my patients got bent and how they responded makes the diver more cautious regarding repetitive diving and a multi-day series of dives. Pressure, the deepest part of the dive washes in the nitrogen over time. Fatty tissue, that includes the central nervous system and peripheral nerves, absorbs more nitrogen than watery tissues such as muscle. Shaping-up to dive includes weight loss, abstinence during the duration of the series of dives, and improving lung function. Physical conditioning such as walking 20 or more minutes a day for several weeks before diving is as important as paying for the trip.
Dive accidents sometimes do not have a treatable solution.