Surfing, with its exhilarating rides and demanding maneuvers, epitomizes the fusion of athleticism and nature’s raw power. However, behind the grace and thrill lies a sport that places significant strain on the body, particularly the joints. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just catching your first waves, safeguarding your joint health is paramount to ensuring longevity and peak performance in the water. In this post, we delve into the indispensable practices and exercises tailored specifically to surfers, aiming to optimize joint health and resilience for every ride. Strength and body maintenance programs are a vital part of many surfers’ lives.
Surfers need to be prepared for heavy waves, long paddles, and spontaneous conditions. Although collisions and lacerations are the most common injuries obtained while surfing (Nathanson et al., 2002), the only safeguard is knowing what, where, and when is the safest way to navigate their way around a lineup. Ligament sprains and muscle strains are the next most common types of injuries, with key areas being the shoulders and lower back. Other overused areas include the neck extensors, trunk rotators, trunk flexors, back extensors, shoulder internal rotators, shoulder flexors, hip flexors, and pushing muscles of the chest. The best way to prevent these injuries is by increasing your active, usable mobility, which includes owning strength within a wide range of joint motion. With the progression of aerials, impact injuries are also becoming more common. Knee sprains, knee dislocations, ankle sprains, and ankle fractures (Nathanson et al., 2002) are now common surf-related injuries.
When we get better at surfing, we get worse at everyday human movement.
At birth, we are given a huge amount of mobility, allowing us to place our toes in our mouth and fall to the floor without consequence. As we grow and develop particular movement habits, our bodies adapt and allow only the ranges of motion that our nervous system can control. Dancers and gymnasts train mobility from a young age and will maintain that mobility if practice continues into adulthood. The same person who played a little bit of sport as a kid and then retired to a desk for the majority of their adulthood will progressively lose that mobility. As the saying goes, use it or lose it. In this case, our bodies will eliminate the mobility that we do not consistently use.
When we get better at any particular sport, we get worse at general human movement. To prevent injury in surfing we need to improve the load bearing capacity of our body’s tissues to a level beyond which they will be exposed to, maintaining the health of all our joints to optimise general movement and surf performance. Key joints requiring attention in surfing include the neck, shoulders, wrists, upper spine, lower back, hips, knees, and ankles.
Enter Mobility
The more mobility you possess, the greater precision your brain has regarding your body’s position in space. Consider the myriad of wild and unconventional body positions necessitated when navigating the ever-changing forces and contours of moving water. With a broader range of positions and joint angles under your control, your capacity to adapt to these dynamic situations without risking injury—such as snapping, straining, tearing, or popping something—increases significantly. Diminished joint range of motion can severely impede the body’s responsiveness to the challenges inherent in surfing. Achieving a specific balance of joint mobility and strength is crucial; for instance, when executing an aerial maneuver, having just one shortfall in these requisite combinations can lead to compensations and potential injury.
Daily Shoulder Joint Articulations for Surfers
These techniques can be practiced casually or intensively, depending on your preference. For a more intense practice, aim to create the largest circles humanly possible while engaging in muscle tension throughout the circle, incorporating an isometric contraction element. The higher the level of tension, the greater the articular strain, leading to enhanced end-range tissue adaptation. For more information on how to execute these techniques, and for comprehensive tutorials that address joint movement from the head to the toes, contact me here.
Key points for completing these articulations (they should not feel easy and if they do, ramp up the effort and expand the circle of each rep).
- Inhale, trap air in the lower abdomen and continue to breathe as you brace your core as strong as possible.
- Stabilize/solidify/tense up your entire body to prevent movement occurring at other joints.
- Begin the circle slowly and deliberately, focusing on the joint articulation only (keep other joints still) and ensuring that the rotation is occurring at the outer limits of movement (make the circle as big as possible without moving other body parts).
- Repeat the circle or reverse directions. Aim for 3-5 reps per direction for a daily morning routine (at 30-50% effort) or ramp up the intensity for greater reps for specific mobility training (70-100% effort).
Stretching and mobilizing may temporarily enable you to achieve a greater range of motion, but it will not result in long-term improvements in your mobility. The central nervous system facilitates greater flexibility by either reducing your stretch reflex or enhancing your stretch tolerance. This adjustment occurs as you train your nervous system to recognize that these extended ranges can be controlled with strength. By enhancing your active mobility and strengthening within these newly acquired ranges of motion, you can persuade your nervous system to retain these capabilities. This explains why dancers and gymnasts possess considerable mobility; they reinforce multi-directional, end-range joint positions.
You can’t build stability, endurance, strength or power in joint ranges that you don’t have. Developing the optimal joint range of motion (mobility) therefore takes priority over stability, endurance, strength and power in an inadequate range of motion.
In conclusion, prioritizing daily joint health is essential for surfers seeking to optimize their performance and longevity in the sport. By understanding the unique demands placed on the body while surfing, individuals can implement targeted strategies to prevent injuries and enhance mobility. From cultivating active mobility through targeted exercises to maintaining overall joint health through proper nutrition and hydration, surfers can fortify their bodies to withstand the rigors of the waves. Ultimately, by consistently investing in joint health and mobility, surfers can not only reduce the risk of injuries but also unlock their full potential on the waves, enabling them to ride with confidence and agility for years to come.
Editor’s Note: Learn more on surf strength and conditioning.
References
Dr Andreo Spina’s Functional Range Conditioning, Functional Anatomy Seminars.
Alberto Mendez-Villanueva and David Bishop, 2005. ‘Physiological Aspects of Surfboard Riding Performance’ Sports medicine 35 (1): 55-70
Andrew Nathanson, Philip Haynes, Daniel Galanis, 2002. ‘Surfing Injuries’ The American Journal of emergency Medicine, 20, 3.