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Posts in category Original Research

Characteristics of Surfers as Bystander Rescuers in Europe

Oct 08, 2021 ~ Author Berg, et al. Review by Andrew Nathanson, MD, FACEP
Characteristics of Surfers as Bystanders

A lot of surfing takes place at unguarded, wave-exposed beaches in areas where rip-currents are strong and casual beach goers can and do get pulled out to sea. We surfers are comfortable out in the ocean, spend a lot of time in the water, and are tethered to a flotation device (our surfboards) so it […]

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Posted in Environmental Injury

Improving Safety in Surfing

Sep 19, 2020 ~ Author Elizabeth D. Willsey, MD

Surfing is a widely enjoyed sport, with participants both at the recreational and professional level, and is gaining popularity worldwide.1 There are an estimated 37 million surfers worldwide, which includes 2.7 million surfers in the United States (2015), 2.3 million surfers in Australia (2013), and 500,000 surfers in the […]

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Posted in Acute Surfing Injury

Big Wave Surfing: A physician’s perspective

Aug 31, 2018 ~ Author Terrance Farrell, DO

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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Tagged Big Wave Surfing, Surfing Injury

Catching Waves: Perspectives of Physicians Who Surf

Aug 29, 2016 ~ Author Niyati Mamtora MSIII

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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2013 Triple Crown + HIC Pro Injury Report

Aug 20, 2015 ~ Author Leland Dao, DO

Introduction & Background To date, there is a lack of published documentation regarding injuries sustained and treated during professional surfing events. Calculating an injury rate for recreational surfers is difficult because the nature of recreational surfing makes it challenging to determine the population at-risk.1 To overcome this obstacle we developed an injury surveillance tool, to […]

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Posted in Acute Surfing Injury, Chronic Surfing Injury

SURF: A Unified Surfing Competition Medical Reference Form

Dec 09, 2014 ~ Author Brittain Cross, DO
Slater Laceration

The Authors of this manuscript propose a standardized medical record to be used at surfing contests with the dual purposes of documenting medical information as well as for future research endeavors. Currently, medical data at surfing contests is gathered in somewhat haphazard fashion, creating a sub-optimal medical record and making the data very difficult to […]

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Summer 2018 Issue #31 Table of Contents

  • Letter from the Editor
  • No Other Options (a true story)
  • Big Wave Surfing: A physician’s perspective
  • Origins of the Paddle Out Ceremony
  • Case Report: 63 y.o. male surfer “found down”
  • What Happened to Zika?
  • Orthopedic Injuries in Professional Surfers: A Retrospective Study at a Single Orthopedic Center

Summer/Fall 2017 Issue #30 Table of Contents

  • Letter from the Editor
  • Don’t Eat the Fish!
  • A Surfing Life
  • The SMA Barefoot Doctor Course
  • The Surfer Health Study
  • Terry Farrell Interview
  • Case Report: Eye Trauma from a Surfboard

Summer 2016 Issue #29 Table of Contents

  • Letter from the Editor
  • Catching Waves: Perspectives of Physicians Who Surf
  • Should you Frika about Zika?
  • Case Report: A 29-Year-Old Female Surfer with a Thigh Laceration
  • Case Report: Central Cord Syndrome in a Bodyboarder
  • Images from Surfing Medicine
  • Druku’s Life
  • Druku: SMA Remembers a Great Man
  • SMA Conference Report – Nicaragua 2016

Summer 2015 Issue #28 Table of Contents

  • Letter from the Editor: Surfing Medicine to the Extreme
  • Sun Protection for Surfers
  • Cold Water Surfing and Hypothermia
  • 2013 Triple Crown + HIC Pro Injury Report
  • Wanna pee on my Wana? Sea Urchin Injuries, a Literature Review
  • Larger Than Life, Don James, MD
  • Granny and Doc
  • SMA Nicaragua Conference Report, May 28 – June 4, 2015

Winter 2014-15 Issue #27 Table of Contents

  • Letter from the Editor
  • Beware the Devil Fish – “Don’t tread on me”
  • SURF: A Unified Surfing Competition Medical Reference Form
  • Surf Stronger, Paddle Longer
  • Sea Ulcers
  • The SMA Scholarship Program
  • Tavi 2014 Summary
  • ASLS Portugal Conference

Fall 2013 Issue #26 Table of Contents

  • A Message from the (new) Editor
  • Case Report: A Nicaraguan Stowaway
  • Knee Injuries in the Barrel: How Heavy and Deep Can You Go?
  • Concussions in Surfers
  • Surfer’s Ear – The Bane of Cold Water Surfers
  • Surfing Injuries – Literature Review
  • Keeping the Stoke: Dealing with Declining Competence in the Aging Surfer
  • Helping Vets to Feel the Healing Waters

Fall 2019 Issue #32 Table of Contents

  • Letter from the Editor
  • Surfing Injuries at the Pipe Masters 2013-2017
  • A Non-Healing Surf-Wound
  • Images in Surfing Medicine
  • Terry Farrell Tribute
  • Surfing USA, a Literature Review
  • The Baker: Archives of the SMA

Fall 2020 Issue #33 Table of Contents

  • Letter from the Editor
  • In the Midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic, Should Surfers Continue to Surf?
  • Improving Safety in Surfing
  • Case Report: Widespread Pruritic Papules after Bodyboarding in Long Island
  • Case Report: Severe Fin Laceration
  • Tourniquets and Hemorrhage Control

Fall 2022 Issue #35 Table of Contents

  • Message from the Editor, 2022
  • Life Rolls On
  • Beware the Leash: Seymour Fracture of the Finger
  • Bill Jones Ph.D, in Memoria
  • The Old Man and the Sea: Video on Surfiatrics from the 2022 World Congress on Extreme Sports Medicine
  • Common Surfing Injuries: Video on Surfing Injuries from the 2022 World Congress on Extreme Sports Medicine
  • Images in Surf Medicine
  • Literature Review: Is Surfer’s myelopathy an acute hyperextension-induced myelopathy? A systematic synthesis of case studies and proposed diagnostic criteria.
  • 2022 Magdalena Bay Conference Report

Fall 2021 Issue #34 Table of Contents

  • Letter from the Editor
  • Impact of SMA Conferences on Wellbeing
  • Surfing and Health in the Covid-19 Era: A Narrative Review
  • Case Report: Femur Fracture in a Kitesurfer
  • Images in Surfing Medicine
  • Characteristics of Surfers as Bystander Rescuers in Europe
  • Acute Injuries in Surfing: A Systematic Review
  • Mag Bay 2021

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Contact the editor at ANathanson@Lifespan.org.

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