Surfing Injuries: A Review for the Orthopaedic Surgeon

JBJS Rev. 2021 Apr 5;9(4). doi: 10.2106/JBJS.RVW.20.00152.

Abstract

»: Surfing is safe: the risk of injury ranges from 0.26 to 0.90 injuries per surfer per year, 0.06 to 3.5 injuries per 1,000 days of surfing, and 1.1 to 13.0 injuries per 1,000 hours of surfing.

»: The most common acute surfing injuries are lacerations, contusions, and sprains; the head and the neck as well as the lower extremities are the locations that are affected most.

»: The most common mechanism of injury is striking a surfer's own board or that of another surfer.

»: A pathology that is unique to surfers is surfer's myelopathy; bites and/or stings by sea life and infections caused by marine life also occur in surfers.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Athletic Injuries* / complications
  • Athletic Injuries* / surgery
  • Humans
  • Orthopedic Surgeons*
  • Spinal Cord Diseases* / etiology
  • Sports*
  • Sprains and Strains* / complications