A surfing life is a fun life until you experience injuries, common or otherwise. Like most sports, surfing comes with its share of aches and pains that can be avoided but can also happen unexpectedly. No one plans to get smacked with sports injuries, but when they do happen, it’s best to know what you need in terms of treatment and rehabilitation.
How Common Surfing Injuries Happen
On the Upper Limbs
- Paddling repetitively makes your shoulders vulnerable to dislocations or subluxations.
- Strain on the shoulder joints can lead to tears in the rotator cuffs.
- When pain strikes during repetitive overhead movements, there’s a high risk of shoulder impingement syndrome. It’s the same condition that affects many swimmers.
On the Neck and Back
Neck injuries are more common than you think among surfers. They usually happen due to overuse of the neck muscles and high-velocity falls.
Back pain, on the other hand, can be caused by several things, starting with the position that most surfers are usually in. Spending a lot of time in a prone position, for example, makes up more than 38% of back injuries. Add to this poor surfing form and technique, sudden twisting movements, and insufficient core stability, and a surfer is likely to develop painful back pains.
On the Lower Limbs
A good majority of surfers are plagued with acute knee and ankle injuries. Ligament sprains, for instance, happen because of a sudden change in direction or when the knee hits the surfboard or even the ocean floor.
Poor foot placement, on the other hand, makes a surfer vulnerable to instability and ankle sprain.
How Physiotherapy Can Help with Surfing Injuries
Subjective and Objective Assessment
An expert physio in Baulkham Hills knows that a comprehensive assessment is key to proper treatment. They not only look into past injuries and red flags, but they’ll also dig into the surfing position, spinal movement, and muscle strength. If you have shoulder impingement syndrome, for example, a physiotherapist will check all affected areas, from your shoulder to the thoracic spine. Then, they’ll analyse your movements and any muscular imbalance.
Pain Management
Dealing with pain can impact your health, performance, and quality of life. The right treatment can help with inflammation and other causes of pain. To boost the healing of affected tissues, rehabilitation and other activities will be provided as well.
Individualised Treatment
When treating acute injuries, treatments are usually developed based on your specific needs. Home exercise programmes are often paired with hands-on management to ensure the best outcome. The goal is to mobilise injured areas and strengthen them.
Rehabilitation Strategies
Physiotherapy sessions are incomplete if you don’t regain your ability to surf following any injury. The goal is to make you stronger and boost your performance, and your physiotherapist will develop a programme to achieve it.
More importantly, physiotherapy will work on preventative measures, including effective strength training, to ensure you avoid surfing injuries as much as possible. You’ll have a better experience on the water if the risk of injury is low to begin with. Learn more about physiotherapy and other related services from The Movement Mill, a trusted provider of physio solutions for a wide range of conditions.
