After a physical trauma, most surfers just want to know how to get back in the water. As I’ve learned on my own road to recovery, there is no hard and fast answer; it’s an ongoing challenge. Illustration: Maggie Yount
Surfing and injury go hand-in-hand, but the how of injury isn’t as important as the how of recovery. After a physical trauma, most surfers just want to know how to get back in the water. As I’ve learned on my own road to recovery, there is no hard and fast answer; it’s an ongoing challenge.
In the summer of 2007, I had lived 23 years without ever breaking a bone. I was learning to surf, working at a magazine and a year away from my college graduation. Then, a few months later while back at school, a car accident almost killed me. Not my fault, but I was left with multiple severe injuries and suddenly surfing wasn’t an option. I didn’t know if it would ever be.
As it was, I was no professional surfer. I was just a beginner who only popped to my feet and began turning a longboard the previous summer, but I had been bitten by the surfing bug. I wanted to surf again, and I wanted to be good. Not professional good, but competent and strong so I determinedly pursued a full recovery.
Injuries among surfers happen, but they typically aren’t due to car accidents. According to Kim Brummett and Winston Purkiss, physical therapists at CORE Orthopaedic in Encinitas, California, surfers are most susceptible to sprains, strains and tendonitis: repetitive injuries or trauma from landing on the hard sand.
While some might prefer to recover independently (or can’t afford professional help), physical therapy can be beneficial. “Our expertise is in the body; a surfer’s expertise is surfing,” says Purkiss. “I would trust in somebody who spends their life studying the body to at least give me a better plan on coming back. Especially as you get to higher levels; you need to have that kind of advice on how to properly gauge [getting back in the water].” For me, that guidance is what I needed.
Keep in mind, extensive therapy can be expensive, but if your insurance will cover it, you may be back in the water sooner than you imagined. “I say try it and see if it hurts,” says Brummett. “If it hurts then you probably need a little help. That way you can come in and honestly say, ‘I tried it and I’m hurtin’, I can’t do it.’”
I had been injured while doing sports I love, but never severely. For me, getting back into surfing isn’t happening as quickly as I’d hoped. I am not a professional athlete with personal trainers at my disposal, and I’m learning to trust my body again. Getting hurt was a big blow to my confidence as well as my body; recovering from a serious injury is not instantaneous. It requires drive, self-awareness, and patience.
When I first returned home after months in the hospital, I desperately wanted to include the ocean and surfing in my mental and physical rehabilitation. I thought that something I loved so much would facilitate my recovery even though I couldn’t just jump in and go for it like I could when I was healthy. The first time I stood in the ocean, knee-high mushy shore break completely knocked me over. My strength, balance, and confidence had vanished. I immediately knew that if I couldn’t even get into the ocean safely, there was no way I could surf. I had to get stronger first.
Since then, I’ve continued on my road to a full recovery and I’ve definitely seen progress. Working with physical therapists who can help ensure a correct recovery without accidentally injuring something else has been fundamental to this process, something Purkiss attributes to consistency. “Stay consistent in strengthening, stretching, diet…rest, all the stuff that one would need to incorporate for overall health,” he says. “Reinjury occurs, in my mind, either because you were trying to get back to it and you weren’t ready or you weren’t capable of asking that of your body.”
Listen to your body. After all, pain exists for a reason. “I think it’s unwise to ignore pain,” says Purkiss. “No pain, no gain is certainly not part of what I would consider therapeutic.” I’ve learned, too, that I can’t rush my body. I can help it as much as possible, but I can’t force it.
As with any kind of physical weakness, where mental blocks or fear of re-injury exist, it’s essential to go slowly. “Incremental increases [are key],” says Purkiss. “If you get someone who’s really skittish then I’m not going to throw them right back into the fire. As a surfer, go out on a small day and mostly just paddle. Then you stand up on something and just ride it into shore. It’s got to be confidence building, not breaking.”
Cross training offers another option that will strengthen important stabilizer muscles and hasten recovery. “Cross training is always good,” says Brummet. “It needs to be a global body, all-encompassing. Surfing takes the whole body so it’s the whole thing.”
With hard work, I can be in the ocean on a small day now and paddle into the lineup. I haven’t popped to my feet yet, but I believe I’ll get there. I love this sport and I’ll keep working at it and getting the right help until I’m strong again. I think Purkiss said it best when he told me this: “We assign risk to everything we do. You have to decide if it’s worth it.” To me, surfing is worth it.
