Surfing Waves

Didn't know how to title this, but I have a quick question for you all :

How many of you, whether you surf daily or only occasionally, suffer from discomfort, aching, or general soreness (is that a word??) of the chest area??

I'm talking aching ribs, sternum, ziphoid (the little bony bit at the base of the sternum), etc from constantly lying on the board whilst paddling - especially if the conditions are less than calm........

I'm especially interested to know if this affects females as well as males and whether the pain has either affected the amount you could surf (ie had to give surfing a miss due to the discomfort, or at least has diminished the enjoyablility of a session until you've 'got used' to the pain) or, perhaps more importantly, has given anyone any long-term problems.......

Thanks in advance

Yer me, my lower ribs get sore some times. As you said lots of paddleing.
I do try to keep it to a minimum, but you have to paddle. A real bummer

Thanks Milo - sorry - just added a poll to this, just to try to gauge percentages..........

have added female options, as I'm female and dont get rib ache as I have boobs for cushioning!!!!!!

OK - quite a few pole answers, but no specifics........

If you get chance, can you qualify the answer you give - ie 'I surf everyday, and don't have a problem with my ribs', or 'I only surf once a week, and sometimes my ribs ache', etc

We've (ie the company) already done a fair amount of research on this, ranging from pro surfers down to people who only surf a few times a year, but I'm trying to put another data sample together which I hoped I could have got from here.

What we are short of is data from female surfers, so responses from a few of the girls would be good ......... oh, and please don't be swayed by the thought that it's somehow kooky to get this rib problem (ie give a false answer to look macho), because most of the pros we've spoken to have admitted that it IS something they've had a problem with.....

Edited to say thanks to whoever changed the pole for me - was just about to do that!!

I've posted this on numerous other posts, but the one of the 1st times I surfed I ended up fracturing my ribs....just from the paddling. 2nd trip out surfing 4 months later, only in the water for about 45 minutes I re-aggrivated them and had to quit for the day. According to the doctor (went after the 2nd occurance) my ribs were broken the 1st time but not the 2nd. My bro-in-law who surfs much more than I do said he did something to his ribs in March and still feels pain here & there and its now May. He said he hurt his by falling off his board and it came up and struck him in the ribs though...not from paddling.

I voted yes, but it's nothing major for me. I just have minor bruises at the bottom of the ribcage from lying prone all the time. I wouldn't call it "pain." I would say my surfing frequency is every week like 1-2 times.

Like Bub, I have bruised/cracked (I have not seen the quack) a rib, from apparantly nothing more than paddling and lying prone. I certainly did not get struck on them. I am a relative newcomer to surfing and am sat at home annoyed that I wont be able to go for probably at least 4 weeks just after getting up on my first few unbroken waves.

The right side of my ribs are very painful at the moment even though I did it 4 days ago. In fact they are a little worse. I just hope that this doesn't compromise my surfing in the future.

having just moved back to the 3mm summer suit after a winter spent in a 5mm cushion, I got sore ribs again

Amazing how much a little bit of neoprene helps, isn't it......

Thanks for all the replies people - keep 'em coming........

It all kind of reinforces what we'd already found out, but I'd not heard of actual rib fractures before - only popped ribs / damaged intercostals.....

Never hurt my ribs, but i do get the ass ache from not being able to surf well !

I always wear a 5mm suit so am nice and comfy (wow finally a bonus of surfing in the icy North Sea!).

However the first time I surfed with a rash vest on I had slight rib problems, which didn't happen again, (I was more concerned with hairly legs and wax chaffing). On of my friends always gets red ribs and another gets really bad ziphod brusing and rashing, (again only when not wearing suits).

I don't generally have a problem but I voted yes as I have had it before. Like others say, its change that does it! When you go out in boardies when you're used to a 5mm its a bit sore for a few sessions but then you get used to it.
What I do get is friction on my skin from the wax - muchos sore. Get really sore on my thighs from sitting on the board too. Also get bruised knees from duck diving! Might start riding a swell!
I find it also hurts when a longboard lands on your head!

Any more for any more????

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I usually get the sore rib thing when I havent been out for a while. Rarely any bruising. I noticed that a female had mentioned bruising on the hip. My girlfriend used to get bruising on her hip too. Hope that helps.

Long sessions I get sore ribs. Mainly because I only wear a rashy or nothing (of course boardshorts!) I usually surf about 3 times a week and get it most times, but I've gotten used to it.

I've seen people wearing these padded bands around there lower ribs. Seems like a good idea.

Surfing-Innovation wrote:What we are short of is data from female surfers, so responses from a few of the girls would be good

Rib injuries? Was a little tender once but never bruised or anything.

It the front of my hips that bruise every time I go out. Which at the moment is only once every 3-4weeks. After the first day they're painful so 2nd/3rd (-if im lucky) becomes very uncomfortable from the start of the day.

This is more to do with sternum pain

Tietze's Syndrome, also known as Costochondritis, is a benign inflammation of one or more of the costal cartilages.

Tietze's Syndrome and Costochondritis were initially described as separate conditions, the sole difference being that in Tietze's Syndrome there is swelling of the costal cartilages. It is now recognized that the presence or absence of swelling is only an indicator of the severity of the condition. It was at one time thought to be associated with, or caused by, a viral infection acquired during surgery, but this is now known not to be the case. Most sufferers have not had recent surgery.

worldsurfradio wrote:This is more to do with sternum pain

Tietze's Syndrome, also known as Costochondritis, is a benign inflammation of one or more of the costal cartilages.

Tietze's Syndrome and Costochondritis were initially described as separate conditions, the sole difference being that in Tietze's Syndrome there is swelling of the costal cartilages. It is now recognized that the presence or absence of swelling is only an indicator of the severity of the condition. It was at one time thought to be associated with, or caused by, a viral infection acquired during surgery, but this is now known not to be the case. Most sufferers have not had recent surgery.

Wow, the most random bit of medical nonsense Ive ever seen on SurfingWaves

...And, as suspected, copied and pasted directly from Wikipedia