The epidemiology of competition and training-based surf sport-related injury in Australia, 2003-2011

Objectives: To describe the epidemiology of competition and training-based surf sport-related injury in Australia in the years 2003-2011. Design: A retrospective epidemiological review. Methods: Information on surf sport-related injuries was obtained from Surf Life Saving Australia's SurfGuard Incident Reporting Database during 1 January 2003 to 20 August 2011. Results: There were 2645 surf sport-related competition or training-related incidents. Males and females experienced similar proportions of injury by activity type, with older individuals experiencing a higher proportion of injuries during training than younger individuals. Minor first aid was required for 54.5% of the competition and 43.7% of the training-related incidents, with major first aid required in just over 10% of both incident types. Overall, inflatable rescue boats, beach flags, and surf boats were the most common activities performed at the time of the incident, with returning to shore and negotiating the break the most common possible contributing factors to surf boat incidents. Bruises/contusions, strains, inflammation/swelling, and sprains were the most common types of injuries that occurred during both competition and training. RICE - Rest-Ice-Compression-Elevation - was the most common form of initial treatment for the injury during both competition and training. Conclusions: Participation in surf sports is not without risk of injury. Information from this study will inform injury prevention efforts for surf sport and act as a guide for future research in this area, and towards improved injury surveillance for surf sport-related injuries.