6 Most Common Surf Injuries (and How to Prevent Them)
Like any physical activity or sport, surfing carries with it a risk of injury. It generally won’t take long for most surfers to experience their first surf injury. As you begin to surf more and more, it’s important to understand the most common surf injuries, and what you can do to care for your body and keep it healthy. Nothing’s worse than missing a good swell because of an injury!
Common Surf Injuries
We’ve heard of all kinds of injuries from surfing. I once got pink eye (conjuctivitis) from getting sargasso seaweed stuck between my contact lens and my eye. Not a common surf injury, but weird shit can happen! We use our whole bodies when surfing. There are a lot of different muscles worked surfing, and therefore several different potential places to get hurt. Here are a few of the most common injuries surfers experience.
Shoulder Impingement
Simply put, shoulders have a lot going on. It’s a highly mobile joint with a bunch of tendons, ligaments, and muscles. Located right inside the shoulder joint is the rotator cuff. Although we talk about the rotator cuff as one thing, it’s actually the group of muscles and tendons around the actual shoulder joint. The rotator cuff keeps the head of the humerus in place.
Shoulder impingement is sometimes referred to as rotator cuff tendinitis, or a swelling of the tendons inside this part of the shoulder. Generally, it occurs when the outer edge of your scapula pinches the tendons of the rotator cuff. When there’s inflammation and an impingement, your muscles and/or tendons are being pinched between the bone and the socket.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, about half of cases of shoulder pain are caused by shoulder impingement. It may be no surprise that this is a common surfing injury. As you paddle, pop up, grab your board, and duck dive, you’re using your shoulders a whole lot. The most common way we injure our shoulders as surfers is simple overuse. Especially if you’re new to surfing, you don’t want to overuse your shoulders.
Hip Flexor Strain
Many new surfers often think of surfing as an upper body workout due to the paddling. However, your legs and hips are working hard during a surf session. The hip flexors, like the rotator cuff, are actually a group of muscles rather than a single muscle. Made up of the iliacus, psoas, pectineus, rectus femoris, and sartorius, this group of muscles mainly helps you move your leg upward toward your body.
The hip flexor is one of the main muscles being used when you do your popup. Getting your hips up and your legs underneath you requires upper body strength, core strength, and a lot of work from your hip flexors. In addition, moving on the wave and different maneuvers will engage the hip flexors.
Much like shoulder impingements, hip flexor strains can be caused by doing too much. Popping up repeatedly will cause these muscles to fatigue and risk injury. You also should do mobility exercises for your hips before every surf session, for real. As you tire toward the end of your session, know when to call it quits!
Lower Back Injuries
Back injuries are no joke. Even a minor strain or sprain has to be taken super seriously to prevent further damage. One of the most common injuries we see in surfers is a strain in the lower back. This is largely due to the paddling in the prone position with your head up, which engages the lower back muscles fully. I remember when I first started surfing feeling the soreness in my lower back more than anything.
Strains can happen when the muscles or tendons are twisted, pulled, or torn. A sprain can also happen where the ligaments are torn to varying degrees. As we paddle and engage the lower back, we also engage it in a different way as we move the torso and hips on the wave. We’re really doubling-up on the use of the lower back, which makes it a place susceptible to injury.
Again, lower back injuries can be caused by overuse. When you feel your lower back tiring during your surf session, it may be time to paddle in. You don’t want to mess around with back injuries.
Knee Injuries
Knee injuries are one that are less common in beginner surfers, but become more common in intermediate and advanced surfers. A beginner may injure their knee if their foot slips off the board, but this is generally less common. More advanced surfers hurt their knees from their surf stance, repeated compression, and advanced maneuvers.
The most common knee tissue that gets hurt in surfers is probably the Medial Collateral Ligament, or MCL. The meniscus may also get damaged with repeated wear and tear. Without a functioning MCL or meniscus, you simply won’t be able to surf safely. These structures stabilize the knee as it moves through its range of motion.
These knee injuries can happen from overuse, or a lack of preparation. As you progress in your surfing, I highly recommend making time and space specifically for knee stretching, mobility, and strengthening.
Surfer’s Ear
Surfer’s ear is sometimes also known as swimmer’s ear. This is caused by the growth of exostoses, or tiny bony growths in the ear canal. It can be painful, block the ear canal, and cause hearing loss. It’s way more common in cold-weather surfers than warm-weather, as the cold water and wind are what cause this injury.
One sign or symptom of surfer’s ear to watch out for is bad or chronic ear infections. If you catch surfer’s ear early, it can be treatable. If you don’t go to a doctor or seek medical attention, it may result in hearing loss. The treatment is generally to remove the bony growths in a quick operation, but it’s best to avoid this if possible.
The simplest answer here is to wear ear plugs if you’re regularly surfing in cold water, cold weather, or super windy conditions. You also might consider a hood, wetsuit with a hood, or some sort of headband to protect the ears.
Toe and Foot Cuts
Finally, we have a rather minor surfing injury compared to many of the others on this list. Toe and foot injuries are definitely less common if you’re surfing somewhere super beginner-friendly as there are less sharp objects in the water. For example, the main break in Sayulita is home to a full sand bottom, making it ideal for beginners. On the other hand, most of the good breaks in La Libertad have rocky bottoms that may cut toes and feet.
These are relatively minor injuries, but still must be taken care of. They’re often caused by walking or falling on rocks or coral. Because they are living creatures, coral cuts can cause many problems. It’s important to clean any cuts thoroughly and watch out for things like infection, blistering, or burning.
How to Prevent Injuries While Surfing
Although injuries are generally a part of any sport or athletic activity, there are things we can do to prevent injury. We won’t prevade 100% of injuries, but we can take steps to give ourselves the best chance at more time in the water.
Mobility Exercises Before Surfing
Before you hop in the water to surf, you should absolutely do some surf mobility. Warm those muscles and joints up, get everything moving, and you’ll lessen your risk of injury. We know pretty clearly now that mobility helps prevent injuries when done before exercise, so drop the stretching and try some mobility exercises before starting your session.
Using Correct Technique
While surfing, you want to use the correct technique to protect your muscles and prevent serious injury. You should learn how to paddle correctly, how to pop up, and how to move the body on a wave. This is something best learned from a surf coach, but you can also find a lot of information for free on YouTube. Learn about the common mistakes, and check yourself in the water to make sure you’re utilizing what you know.
Stretching After Surfing
Don’t skip your stretching! It just takes a few minutes, and will help you feel better after a heavy surf session. We’ve all felt the muscle tightness after surfing, and stretching can help you recover. We recommend some yoga, as the structured and mellow format is a great way to get some stretching in at night after surfing. As you may know, we’re big fans of Yoga with Adriene. She has a ton of free videos, and they’re often very beginner-friendly and accessible to all. You also might try going to a surf and yoga camp for your next surf trip to really learn the art of yoga! Check out our post The 4 Best Surf and Yoga Retreats in Costa Rica for some recommendations.
Strength Training and Conditioning
On off days, it can be helpful to strengthen the muscles you use when surfing and work on conditioning. As you workout your muscles, you can improve paddle strength, protect the wellbeing of your muscles, and last longer in the water. You don’t want to overtrain, but putting energy forth to build muscles that are used in surfing will help you steer clear of injuries.
Taking Rest Days
I’m admittedly horrible at this. As I’m writing this, we’ve had about 5 days of waves with another 5 coming. And I will realistically surf 8 or 9 out of those days. However, it’s important to take rest and recovery days. Taking rest days helps us to build strength, as this is when the muscles actually do all of their growing. This building of strength will help us prevent injury. We also are way more likely to hurt ourselves if we go out with fatigued muscles.
Health Basics
Finally, take care of yourself in general! Getting enough sleep can help reduce injury, proper nutrition aids in muscle and bone strength, and drug and alcohol use can increase the risk of injury. Try to eat right, getting the different vitamins and minerals you need. Work toward those eight hours of sleep, especially before a surf day. Take care of your basic health needs to decrease your risk of injury while surfing!