River surfing is a sport that involves a surfer riding a stationary river wave on a surfboard. With the growing popularity and the recent addition of a competitive element to the sport, the need for specific prevention strategies arises.
However, information on river surfing injuries is scarce. Therefore, the purpose of this exploratory study was to create an insight into river surfing injuries and to deduct possible prevention strategies. An online survey was used to obtain baseline characteristics and characteristics of river surfing injuries. The results suggest that river surfing is an injury prone sport.
A relevant number of participants seeked out professional healthcare due to river surfing injuries. Typical injury mechanisms and types of injuries could be described and possible prevention strategies were deducted. The proposed prevention strategies need to be tested in prospective studies.
Authors SMI Team
Constatin Reiber, MD | Jennifer Straatman, MD| Eline Thijssen, MD | Mark Knoeringer, MD| Ognjen Markovic, MD
