Helmet time.
We surfers, we queens of the sea, know that a certain amount of risk is baked in to our favorite pastime. But who, here, doesn’t have a story of dislocated shoulder or twisted ankle suffered in, or around, the lineup? Reef rash, pterygium, boardshort chafe etc.
Well, in a first of its kind study, performed by good and honest smarties in South Carolina, it has been revealed that the torso and limbs are not at greatest danger, whilst surfing, but rather the face and head.
Dr. Brian Saway, a neurosurgery resident at the Medical University of South Carolina, is also a stone-cold shredder and became interested in surf-related injuries and so decided to make research.
According to the Post and Courier, Dr. Saway and his team:
…were able to pull out 25 studies, from 1976 to 2025, covering more than 72,000 patients. What they could conclude is that the most common injuries were cuts to the face, head and neck, which accounted for around four in 10 injuries. The range of concussions and mild traumatic brain injuries varied widely, anywhere from 2.7 percent to 26 percent depending on the study, although it is likely concussions are often missed or go undiagnosed, the study concluded.
The biggest injury-causer in neither reef nor foamball monster but the surfboard itself. The bigger the board, the worse the damage, which is unwelcome news for our hang-ten sisters.
It all makes sense, I suppose. I was just out enjoying a little south pulse at my local. The waves were in that three to five feet range with the occasional bigger set rolling in and cleaning out. There were many who did not like to hold on to their boards during these times and I wondered how many others got bonked as a result.
I suppose four in ten.
That’s how science works.