#167 | Juani Valdivia | Freediving Doctor

Jani Valdivia is from Peru and is based in Tampa, Florida where he works as a neurosurgeon.

He is also a member of the AIDA Science and Medical Committee and a competitive freediver himself.

Juani also appeared on episodes #99 and #135.

In this episode we discuss:

Catching up with Juani.
Juani was on Long Island, Bahamas at the time of the interview, preparing for Vertical Blue, 2025.
Remote assessment of an injured freediver.
An example scenario of a remote assessment, using lung squeeze.
The Slow Controlled Forced Exhale technique.
Assessment for DCI related or DCI-like symptoms.
MFSCO2 (Mask - motor memory, Fins - fine motor skills, Snorkel - Speech, C - coordination/balance, O - orientation, 2 - vision, eye sight and eyes)
Juani already did a real-world assessment on Donny.
What is Telemedicine?
A question from Patreon member Jorg about telemedicine.
Shout out to Johnny Sunnex.A question from Patreon member Andrew Ferris about what Juani wishes every new freediver knew about their body from the start.
On tracking variables such as resting heart rate and heart rate variability, blood pressure, body weight, etc.
A question from Patreon member Christian Stein, about how freediving interacts with the nervous system.
On over-training and sleep deprivation.
Study suggesting ROS (reactive oxygen species) peak, increase after 3 days of diving.
Defining what is DCI (Decompression Illness).
The importance of being prepared for DCI-like issues.
What is PFO and what does it mean for the freediver?
An incident Donny experienced after a dive.
What is supraventricular tachycardia and can valsalva manoeuvre fix it?
Better post-black out care for freedivers.
A question from Patreon member Adrian about research on freediving’s effects on brain health and cognitive function.
A question from Patreon member Tony Scafidi about fast dive times making a squeeze more likely.
Jauni’s non-profit organisation for freediving research and awareness (UNU Freediving Foundation).

Donny is hosting the first ever Living Freediving Retreat in Dahab, Egypt from October 5 - 11.

For all episodes of the Freedive Cafe Podcast, visit www.freedivecafe.com

For freediving courses and training in Dahab, Egypt, visit www.freediveandthrive.com

To support on Patreon: www.patreon.com/freedivecafe