As we pull together this Summer 2018 issue of Surfing Medicine the common theme that emerges from the great blue abyss is death. Try as we may to avert our gaze, there seems to be no avoiding it. “No other option” is a beautifully rendered, heartfelt, true story about a near-death surfing experience in Mexico […]
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It was the summer of 1970 and I had just graduated from Glendale High School in California. I had been working at the Glendale YMCA as a lifeguard and a swimming instructor for two years, and just finished teaching a Water Safety Instructors class. My younger brother Jim was one of my students. I talked […]
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Introduction The sport of big wave surfing has been defined and redefined since the first Polynesian surfer shaped the first board and then rode the first wave. I suspect that from that first wave the allure of riding bigger and more challenging waves had its beginnings. The history of big wave surfing is extensive with […]
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It may seem counterintuitive to some, but working as a palliative care physician has some unique rewards. It is difficult work, breaking life-changing news and having very emotionally charged conversations with patients and their families. But the rewards lie in the process of walking through those tough times. We get to know what really matters […]
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HPI 63-year-old male surfer in Northern California was found floating in shore break by fellow surfers. He was wearing a full wetsuit and last seen riding a 5-foot wave, perhaps 5 minutes before the incident. When other surfers arrived to assist, the victim was not breathing spontaneously, had limp muscle tone and was blue. He […]
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A few years back, Zika caught a wave of attention during the epidemic in Central and South Americas. Although usually causing relatively mild disease in most patients, the virus is linked with devastating microcephaly in babies born to mothers actively infected by the virus. In the last two years, the disease dropped out of the […]
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This excellent article, appearing in the March 2018 issue of the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine highlights 17 years of clinical experience of the World Surfing League’s (formerly ASP) medical director, Warren Kramer, MD. Dr. Kramer, an orthopedic surgeon in Newport Beach, CA has long been the go-to physician for professional surfers around the world. […]
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A wizened old surfer observing idle young groms once said, “Youth is wasted on the young” – or perhaps it was Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw. No matter. The fact is, that as we get older, we yearn for the flexibility, strength and quickness of our youth. True that 60 is the new 50, and […]
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Scombroid, Ciguatera, Fugu, Amnestic Shellfish Poisoning. Weird names for weird diseases all caused by eating seafood. Most surfers are aware that these diseases exist, but unless you are a toxicologist, it is likely that you are somewhat hazy about the exact causes, symptoms, and treatments of these interesting maladies. Given the strange and often overlapping […]
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