Introduction: Surfing is a popular and rapidly expanding sport worldwide. Its popularity notwithstanding, there is a scarcity of published data elucidating the health and injury profile of competitive surfers. The objectives of this study, therefore, were to describe the health and injury profile of Australian competitive surfers. Methods: All registered participants at the Australian Surfing Titles (Coffs Harbour, August 2014), aged 18 years or older, were invited to complete an online survey administered via SurveyMonkey. The survey comprised 51 questions distributed across three sections, namely: (1) demographic information, including details about surfing activies; (2) health-related quality of life using the Short Form health questionnaire; and (3) surfing injury history. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the responses to the survey items. The injury incidence rate (IIR) per 1000 hours was calculated with a 95% confidence interval (CI) using standard methods. Injuries were classified according to the Orchard Sports Injury Classification System version 10, and presented as proportions by anatomical region and type of injury. Results: The sample consisted of 228 (77% male) adult Australian surfers with mean age of 36.1 (sd 13.2; range 18-71) years and a mean body mass index of 24.7 (sd 2.7; range 17.3-31.3). The mean number of years of surfing experience was 20.0 (sd 14.0; range 1-55) years, while the mean number of hours of surfing per week was 9.1 (sd 6.8; range 0-50). The estimated overall IIR was 4.1 (95%CI 3.6-4.7) per 1000 hours of exposure. The most commonly injured body regions were the lower back, foot, knee, and ankle; while the most common types of injury were abrasion, laceration, muscle strain, and contusion. Discussion This is one of the largest studies of the health and injury profile of Australian competitive surfers conducted to date. It reveals that competitive surfers report similar health-related quality of life as the general population. Although the present study highlights a substantial injury problem in the sport, the estimated IIR is lower than that previously reported in competitive surfers in the United Kingdom (Nathanson et al., 2007). The present study also reveals a higher burden of lower back injuries compared to previous reports (Furness et al., 2015; Nathanson et al., 2007). Further efforts are required to prevent and reduce the burden of injuries in surfing.
© Copyright 2016 21st Annual Congress of the European College of Sport Science (ECSS), Vienna, 6. -9. July 2016. Veröffentlicht von University of Vienna. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.