33.22 - Surfing, More Than Just Riding a Wave: A Movement System Impairment Syndromes Approach to the Evaluation and Treatment of the Surfing Athlete
Course Description
Surfing is a rapidly growing sport enjoyed by both recreational and professional athletes. This monograph is intended to introduce the management of patients who surf. It primarily covers ocean surfing, but gained knowledge can be adapted to individuals surfing in wave pools and other bodies of water. The management of surfers as patients is quite complex. A clinician needs to consider the mechanism of injury, chronicity of symptoms, patient’s skill level, biomechanics of the different phases of surfing, types of maneuvers on the board, equipment used, and the types of waves surfed to create an effective plan of care. This monograph details the incidence of surf-related injuries, signs and symptoms warranting a referral to other practitioners, the evaluation and diagnosis of surfers using a movement system impairments approach, and recommendations for rehabilitation to help surfers return to the water. This monograph discusses the biomechanics associated with each phase of surfing, some maneuvers that can be completed while surfing, the basics of surf equipment, and wave components.
Course Overview
Course Format: Online
Contact Hours: 5 contact hours
State Approval: AOPT courses are accepted in all states plus the District of Columbia, as allowed by the type of course requirements in state regulations. A small number of states require APTA to seek pre-approval of courses. The approval codes for these states can be found here. Always check with your State Licensing Board to confirm contact hours offered.
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Login or Create AccountPricing
| Online Only | |
|---|---|
| AOPT Member | $50 |
| Non-AOPT Member | $65 |
Course Objectives
Upon completion of this monograph, the course participant will be able to:
- Report the incidence, prevalence, and etiology of common surf-related musculoskeletal injuries.
- Diagnose significant surf-related musculoskeletal injuries and identify conditions warranting referral outside of physical therapy.
- Describe the ideal surfer postures in various positions considering differing styles to make corrections to a patient’s positioning on the surfboard.
- Analyze the basic phases of paddling on the surfboard while on land and in the water to adjust surfers’ biomechanics.
- Analyze the pop-up movement on the surfboard to identify aberrant movement patterns that may need to be modified.
- Describe the types of surf-specific maneuvers to incorporate them into plans of care.
- Discuss surfer-specific history intake considerations to guide the evaluation and management of this population.
- Recognize the most common impaired movement patterns seen in surfing athletes.
- Implement a movement system impairments approach in assessing and managing surf-related injuries.
- Develop a treatment plan for return to surfing based on the patient’s internal and external factors.
- Implement injury prevention and surf performance strategies for recreational and competitive surfers.
Topics and Authors
Surfing, More Than Just Riding a Wave: A Movement System Impairment Syndromes Approach to the Evaluation and Treatment of the Surfing Athlete
Su Wang, PT, DPT, OCS, CSCS, CNC; Adam Babitts, PT, DPT, OCS