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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A 70-year-old looks at 58 years of surfing and how surfing has changed him, physically, medically and mentally. My first stand up surfing wave was on a 9ft Surfari pop-out board at Huntington Beach in summer 1960. Prior to that, I had body surfed, rubber mat surfed (a surfo) and surfed home-made plywood paipo (belly) […]
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The Surfers Medical Association offers a class called, “The Barefoot Doctor”. The class is deeply rooted in teaching Surfer’s Wilderness First-Aid. The class is open to all, particularly those without any formal medical training. The class is held on a single day at a beach location that allows both land and water training, and lasts […]
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In much of the world some of the best surf is found in the days following a good storm. Unfortunately, storms are often accompanied by heavy rains which flush bacteria and other undesirable goodies into the ocean. Have you ever been concerned that you might swallow some of that water nasty-looking water and get sick? […]
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While much of our readership has a keen interest in surfing medicine, there are only a handful of us who actually get paid to travel the globe taking care of injured surfers. SMA’s own Terry Farrell, D.O., is one of the lucky few, and SM caught up with him this summer, just as he was […]
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History An 18-year-old male was surfing a thruster shortboard in 5 foot waves. He fell on takeoff, was tumbled, and his board recoiled striking him in the right eye, causing a significant right upper eyelid laceration. He was transferred from a walk-in clinic to our tertiary-care trauma center for ophthalmology consultation. He states his vision […]
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A surf doctor is a know-it-all. Has to be. Take a look at this issue of Surfing Medicine, and you’ll see why. Part neurosurgeon (Bodyboarder with central cord syndrome), part ID specialist (Should you Frika about Zika?) part wildlife expert (Images from surfing medicine), all of these topics and more are included in this 29th […]
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Surfing has been shown to be a positive impact on the well-being on youth populations as well as veteran populations. However no studies to date have explored the impact on surfing on physician well-being.
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