Power your surfing and enjoy a healthy lifetime in the water

The cooler seasons are upon us and bring ideal surfing conditions to our coast.

Surfers delight in the return of powerful groundswells, offshore winds and bigger waves.

However, eagerness to return to the water without listening to your body can result in unwanted physical strain or injury.

Dr Brieuc Wilmart, originally from Belgium, was trained as an osteopath in the UK and is now practicing at Sequence Osteopathy.

Dr Wilmart is an avid surfer himself and is keen to help other surfers understand the biomechanics of surfing and give tips to improve performance in the water and speed up recovery.

Surfing requires power from the whole body.

The action of paddling requires multiple muscles to be used; triceps, biceps, deltoids, lats, the rotator cuff muscles as well as your abs and back muscles.

Lifting your upper body requires use of the deltoids, pecs, triceps and biceps.

When up and riding, the quadriceps, gluteals and the gastrocs (calf muscle) leg muscles kick in.

All of these muscles need to be sufficiently warmed up before and stretched after a surf.

In clinics, surfers often present with common body injuries: tight shoulders, sore necks, stiff hips, lower back pain and tight calves as a result of regular surfing sessions.

You may have spent your surfing lifetime disregarding your body’s aches and pains.

The warm up will loosen the joints and increase blood flow to the muscles.

Without targeted stretching your muscles may fatigue faster.

When you become tired you risk further injury or strain.

Some things to look out for include pinching pain in the neck when you turn your head to look behind before paddling.

This indicates a possible stiff thoracic spine and shoulder restriction.

Tight hip flexors may be felt from straddling your boards for long periods.

With each bottom turn and carve, your lower back muscles are put to work and may lead to injury if your pelvis is out of balance.

Improving mobility, releasing the rotator cuff, and opening up the chest can help improve paddle power and your wave efficiency.

Dr Wilmart likes to treat the hip muscles and flexors to enable you to pop up quickly, and each treatment is tailored to suit individual bodies and key problem areas.

A treatment with Dr Wilmart aims to help you move more freely and increase your endurance and performance in the water.

Three other qualified osteopaths with a passion for water and the coast work alongside Dr Wilmart.

Get in touch with the clinic directly for further advice. You can conveniently book your appointment online via sequenceosteo.com.au or phone 5261 5766.

Mention this article for $10 off your first consult.