Wakeboarding Injuries

So, how common is it to injury yourself in wakeboarding? Once I heard the Dallas Friday story, I was kinda of scaried, but why was she injuried so badly in the whirlybird crash?

How do you prevent some of these injuries? What type of injuries are common due to wakeboarding?

thanks ladies....if you have a personal story, I would love to hear it!

Audrey,

The chance of injury is there with any sport, but certainly increases when you factor in the speed of the boat & cutting in to hit a wall of water! I think the extent of Dallas Friday's injury was somewhat rare. I've seen people of all ages and skill levels get hurt. I think you are on the right track for prevention with lessons & fitness. But, the boat driver, speed & rope length also play into the equation. For example, you shouldn't try to learn a 360 w2w first at 24 mph & 80' rope length.

My injury list is extensive and might explain the lack of progression I've made over the years. Oh wait...it might be the lack of lessons or skill!

ACL (R) - twice
ACL (L)
Concussion - too many to remember!
Broken Foot (R)
Dislocated Knee
Dislocated Shoulder
Torn Biceps
Torn rotator cuff

I'm sure there were more, but the concussions have taken a toll on the memory. Oh wait, it could be the beer drinking that did that! lol

I love wakeboarding, regardless of those injuries & I'll still be trying for as many years as the body allows!

Thanks Kat...

Yeah, I have been dancing for 14 years (ballet,jazz, hip hop..just to clarify) and I have had so many injuries but I all recovered from them.

I guess it's always good to just be aware but you can't stop what you love!!!!!!

I am signing up for a 3 hr private with Freeride with Billy and then going to a 3 day camp with Pat McElhinney this summer. I'm stoked! Plus I'm going to go out every Wed,Sat and Sunday this summer. I have a goal this summer and I'm going to meet it!!!!



P.S. I was actually thinking maybe in a few years I can move to Florida, it seems to be the spot for wakeboarding!

What if the memory is going and there have been no concussion's or beer drinking??? Wait...what were we talking about???

What Kat said Audrey.....extreme sports come with their own unique injuries. I was fortunate in that as much as I ride (4 days a week in the summer..1-2 in winter, my first wakeboard injury ever was a broken foot this last year. I have also taken some pretty bad falls...no concussion's though. But most of the injuries seem to be just freak accidents. What's your goal?

My goal is to be the best wakeboarder I can be. Keep learning and learning and ...............

hopefully do some cool stuff! I can't ride everyday, but usually Sat and Sundays.

i also have a whole list of injuries (i'm a klutz!) but amazingly nothing serious wakeboarding! worst i've had are some severe face plants where my face was numb for like 5 minutes. of course, i also can't do any tricks!

lol, Kylie....love that profile pic!

I looked at Kylie avator too and was like dang...I thought she couldn't do tricks and then I read the bottom text about Amber Wing. Nice anyhow!

Hi Ladies!

I'm actually posting under my husband's name, but thought I'd through a few "female" facts your direction.

My husband and I ride year-round, at least 2-3 days a week. We're strictly novices, but enjoy the hell out of getting out on the wakeboard. I've always been pretty athletic, enjoy tons of sports and play hard. Well, last summer I tore my ACL when I over-rotated my 180 landing. (summer ender, for sure). I learned a LOT about women athletes and how our body mechanics are different from men's.

1 - Our hips are designed differently then mens' puts most womens' knees at a angle (called a Q-angle), making us 2x more susceptible to ligament and tendon injuries. Check out this link to a preventive workout program: http://www.aclprevent.com/pepprogram.htm, and search other sites and you'll find that Stanford and other medical experts are researching this as well.

2 - Then, there's the whole hormone issue for women. During a certain stage of our monthly cycle, a hormone called Relaxin is released that causes our ligaments and tendons to gain "laxity" or become more stretchy. You can find articles about hormone research for women athletes as well. Here are a few:
http://www.articlearchives.com/sports-recreation/athletes/986927-1.html
http://daily.stanford.edu/article/2003/2/6/aclInjuriesPlagueWomensBasketball
http://news.bio-medicine.org/medicine-news-2/Birth-control-pill-may-reduce-knee-injury-3A-McGill-researchers-1788-1/
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1888743

Well, didn't mean to dump a bunch of data on everyone, but I've found it quite helpful as I've rehabbed my ACL... hoping to get sign off to ride in March! RFrank

Very true! Great references. You have done alot of research.
The Q-angle actually puts our knees in a bit of valgus (or knock kneed) which does make us more susceptible. We also usually don't have as much strength in the supporting muscles to assist in preventing some of the injuries.
The Relaxin hormone is also released even more when pregnant to allow the pelvis and birth canal to widen to carry and give birth to the baby. I have seen a fair amount of posts from women wanting to know if they can wakeboard while pregnant. The effects of that hormone are another thing to consider other than just injury to the fetus.

Good luck with your rehab. When you get back out there, just start out and progress slowly, and wear your de-rotation brace.
After all, you don't want to end up with an injury list like Kat's. (love ya Kat)

Do they bottle relaxin? I have the opposite problem.... Too tight from no more relaxin

RFrank....great job on the data. Unfortunately, the only part of the prevention that's easy to do on the program right before riding is stretching! Unless you're on Susan's "Beast"! Then, you might have some room for jogging, walking backwards & side to sides!

I guess I go out of order cause I stretch & then warm up on the board a bit before doing much of anything. (Not that I have a big bag of things to throw!)

those are great links. thanks! I definetly warm up before but sometimes don't cool down after

Hi gals! I am still reading and soaking up all your good info and tips and finally have something worth contributing! I was a personal trainer before kids and plan to go back to it in the next year. The Q factor is a huge part of my work out for women. I always do/teach a lower body work out that has three quad exercises. One for the main quad, a single leg extension with toes pointed inward and either a ballet squat or the leg press with toes pointed outward. You strengthen the opposite side of where you point your toes. This helps develop a little more muscle on either side of the patella and lift it off the lower bursa enough to prevent some damage from the q factor issue. You also get a nice looking cut to your legs as an added bonus.
Our lake was lowered for the winter and should start filling back up this weekend. I have a new wet suit so as soon as the weather stays above freezing long enough to de-winterize the boat, I am back out there. I ended last summer with a torn MCL from my superjet so I am so excited to get back out there!!!

So, a plie (bending of the knees) in turnout (feet pointed outward) helps stretchen those muscles on the sides on the knee?

Yup Audrey - When I had limited equipment, like at a client's house, I would bring some dumbbells and have her hold it between her thighs while doing a plie/ballet squat. You can do it with your toes completely turned out or just at a 45° angle. It also does a good job on the inner thighs and your bootie.
I am loving this discussion...now if only the water would come back and be warm!

thanks for the advice! Yeah, the water should be warmer up in the next month or too. well, if 60 is warm. lol

My doctor won't let me wakeboard till April (due to a recent surgery) so I'm taking gymnastics and learning how to flip to pass my time.

Hi R Frank here,
I got permission to go wake boarding from the doctor last week and had three sessions in a row. I can't jump until May but it was sooo awesome to get back behind the boat and get a pull.

After a Thursday session the knee was a little sore, iced it down before bed and I felt much better. Saturday had my second session and felt much more confident, I didn't have nearly as much soreness. I went out again on Sunday and felt really good, was hacking up the wake and butter sliding like I did 8 months ago. Can't wait to jump now..

Its nice to be back.

Great news, R Frank! Welcome Back! I know the drill....3 ACLs here & each time back was just as you described!!

Audrey,

I live in Tampa Bay, which would seem like a pretty good place for wakeboarding, and it is, because FL in general is just COVERED in lakes, but in Tampa Bay we have saltwater, too, which is pretty common, but to tell you the truth, Orlando has a major wake scene! There are a couple of cable parks, one brand new, and of course, lakes. Major scene. A lot of kids from here go to Orlando routinely (as if wakeboarders have a routine) and it's only a two-hour drive, more or less.

I just broke 3 ribs. Was just messin around and caught my toe edge. Whipped my face straight into the lake. I couldnt brush my teeth, curl my hair, pee or sneeze for 2 months! LOL
That didnt feel very good at all!
It happened at 9:00am and I stayed the rest of the day on the lake! Didnt want to be a whimp! LOL

Ouch...how those ribs doing now?! You must have had some knarly teeth after not brushing them for 2 months & dread locks for hair! Awesome job representing the toughness it takes and staying out all day though; I've learned to do that as well with a few adult beverages!!

So this is more of a freak accident...but a friend was boarding about a month ago and face planted off a w2w...when she came up her face was bleeding and instantly swollen...went straight to the ER thinking stiches and possible concussion...nothing to serious...we thought she somehow hit her board...turns about she shattered her eye socket and cheek bone ...probably on a submerged stump...two surgeries and three titanium plates later she is counting the days to get back on the water....Although it was a one of those freak things made me think twice about how close to shore we tow sometimes to get the best water....

Wow...that is quite a scary injury!! I'm glad you guys took her to the hospital quickly! Better drift out a bit further from shore for towing! I'm glad she will be okay and wants to wakeboard, but tell her "Shredding your face off" should not be taken literally!!

We weren't with her when it happened...but the whole crew pretty much thought stitches and everything would be okay....they were actually almost 200-300 feet offshore...but the lake they were at is low this year so a bunch of hidden stuff underwater...
She is a tough cookie and was asking the ER doc when she could be back in the water before her husband had even made it to the ER after pulling out the boat! We are just glad she is okay ...another inch in either direction and it could have taken out her eye...

Owww... reading these stories (like a full face job with plates and all) makes me feel a little bit better. I got the results from my MRI back today and looks like I fully tore my ACL and my MCL doing a simple hs w2w jump... Surgery for me in August or September

Those darn ACLs...I'm waiting for them to invent a bionic one, as I can't seem to keep my right one intact!! You will rehab much faster if you get as strong as possible leading up to surgery!! Good luck!!

Lately I have had tennis elbow and it sucks. I landed a HS 180 with one hand and had some slack in the rope and it yanked my arm hard.....ever since I have major shooting pains in that arm. It sucks. It's hard to hold onto the handle!

Audrey....I have a "reconstructed" elbow from a past competitive swimming injury...mine also used to just shoot pain every time I rode....I recently found a trick that seems to take some of the pressure off my "bad" elbow...when I am behind the boat I started holding the line using a "skiers" hold(as my husband calls it)..meaning have your good arm face knuckles up and your bad arm knuckles down holding the handle...or switch if it more comfortable...As soon as I got comfortable using this grip it took the pressure off my elbow and makes it much easier to ride longer....
Another trick is going to your local drug store and buying on of those cheap braces that wraps around your forearm just below the elbow...it compresses the tendons and takes the pain out...Hope this helps, I know what a "pain" a bad elbow is like.