Surf Screenings
What is a Surf Screening?
Critical surfing requires a combination of upper & lower body strength, posture and key joint ranges of motion to get your body into the necessary positions to surf well. Surf Screenings involve assessing joint ranges of motion, strength and movement patterns specific to surfing. The assessment will highlight weaknesses or restrictions that may lead to injury or may be limiting your performance.
Who is it for?
A Surf Screening is for anyone that surfs, whether it be beginner, intermediate or advanced. whether you are just learning to surf or looking to take the next step from intermediate to advanced, we have different screenings based on different needs. Our physiotherapists are aware of different levels of surfing, age groups and their different biomechanical needs by tailoring our screenings to the individuals need.
What do I get out of a Surf Screen?
You’ll walk away with an individualised exercise program targeted towards the areas highlighted in the screen. It is also a good overview of your baseline, this means we will have good statistics of your body pre-injury. If you do get injured in the future, we will know what numbers we are aiming for before getting you back in the water.
What do we assess?
Surfers are often exposed to big increases in load; surf as much as you can in a 3 day window, while the surf is good. Followed by 1-2 weeks of not too motivating conditions and repeat. The inconsistent nature of surfing is what can cause common overuse injuries in the shoulder, neck, lumbar spine and occasionally in the hip and knee.
Our assessment will look at the strength and range of motion at each of these areas with the aim to reduce the risk of an injury as well as increase performance. We also assess breath hold capacity and look to improve surfers ability to handle a long hold down.
How will I know if I am improving?
During the screening, you will be given a program to help improve any areas of concern. Depending on the findings, we often recommend following up with the Physiotherapist after 1-2 months of completing the surf specific exercise program to assess progress and make any necessary changes.
Why do a Surf Screening at Sports Physio Ulladulla?
Our Physiotherapist has been surfing for the last 25 years and has been involved with both social and elite level surfers. From having experience working in the Mentawii’s, URBNSURF and Holistica Movement Lvl 1 qualifications our physiotherapist has first hand experience meaning they understand the unique physical demands of the sport. We have developed this screening tool utilising this experience with the number 1 goal of keeping you in the water.