Surfing Injuries

There are certain kinds of injuries that are peculiar to the surfing world. These usually involve the time spent paddling out into the surf, catching the wave or marine life. Without any outward signs of what the injury might be or hearing the details from the surfer involved, most doctors are stymied without further investigation. But studies of surfers have begun to provide the statistics needed to draw the picture of what likely happened to cause the injury.

After looking at a group of surfers the statistics showed that the type of injury usually sustained during the paddle would involve dislocation of the shoulder - an injury caused by the surfboard to the head, usually a fracture to either the skull or face - or bruising to the vocal chords. Injuries commonly associated with catching or riding the wave involved broken arms or legs, head and neck trauma or damage to the knees. Other injuries can be cause by stings or bites from marine animals, cuts and bruises from the tail fin on the surfboard, damage to the ears from exposure to the cold water and various kinds of foreign materials finding their way into the lungs.

So how safe is surfing?

There are nearly 50% more surfers in the U.S alone than there was in 1987. So it is a fast growing sport. Researchers surveyed surfers from around the globe and compiled the statistics on the kind of injuries and how they were sustained and this is a brief breakdown of the figures.

* Of the 1,350 people surveyed the average length of time they had been surfing was 11yrs and the mean age was 28.6yrs.
* 90% were male
* 67% of acute injuries were cause by direct contact between the surfer and the surfboard.
* 82% of all board injuries were caused by the surfer's own board, leaving the responsibility for the other 18% with other surfer's boards.
* Other types of injuries (7%) were caused by the force of the waves (ruptured ear drum, shoulder dislocation, near drowning)
* 17% were caused by contact with the sea bed or rocks and corals (scrapes, cuts and bruises)
* Excessive movement of the body resulted in 5% of the injuries (knee sprains)
* Marine life accounted for 3% of the injuries (sharks,jellyfish, stingrays, dolphins, seals and sea urchins)

Out of all the injuries 62% were caused while the surfer was riding the wave, while others were caused during the paddle out or getting into and out of the water.

After studying these statistics recommendations were made for the improvement of surfboards in the hope of reducing some of the injuries without losing any of the performance. Such changes as making the leash less elastic would help reduce the amount of injuries sustained by the surfer's own board. Wearing a helmet if surfing in shallow water or when there are a high percentage of people in the water. Of course surfer's themselves would have to support these changes and perhaps modify their own behaviour in order for the manufacturers to implement them.

However, overall it would seem that the consensus is surfing is a safer sport to participate in than soccer.

Read more information on Common Surfing Injuries