What Are Common Wakeboarding Injuries?


Wakeboarding is a popular pastime activity in the summer, especially in areas with a lake or river. If you’ve recently started wakeboarding, you might want to know how dangerous wakeboarding is and what are common wakeboarding injuries?

The most common wakeboarding injuries are cuts and lacerations. In addition, orthopedic surgeons report that the most frequently seen wakeboarding injuries are ACL tears, shoulder dislocations, and sprained ankles. Some people fracture bones while wakeboarding, but very few people have died.

As in any sport, wakeboarding comes with certain risks. Fortunately, however, few people get seriously injured while wakeboarding. This article discusses the most common wakeboarding injuries and how you can prevent them.

What Are Common Wakeboarding Injuries?

All sports have dangers and risks. However, watersports tend to be more dangerous than other sports because you risk drowning. Therefore, you must follow all the necessary steps to prepare for wakeboarding and other watersports.

Although drowning is one risk of wakeboarding, very few people drown due to wakeboarding. Other injuries are much more common when wakeboarding. People mostly get injured while doing stunts on the wakeboard. Some incidents occur when they fall or hit submerged objects. What are the most common wakeboarding injuries?

1. ACL Tears

Your anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of the ligaments in your knee. ACL tears are among the most common wakeboarding injuries and make up 31% of the wakeboarding injuries seen by orthopedic surgeons. ACL tears mainly occur when wakeboarders jump or fall and can result from the knee hyper-extending during a fall.

Although an ACL tear is painful and requires some rehabilitation and healing time, it isn’t a life-threatening injury. An ACL tear is usually associated with knee swelling, pain, and instability and the treatment primarily consists of surgery or physiotherapy.

2. Shoulder Dislocations

The second most common injury that occurs when wakeboarding is shoulder dislocations. These also mostly happen due to falling or when doing a stunt. Shoulder dislocations are extremely painful and require immediate medical attention. However, shoulder dislocations heal over time, and you can make a full recovery.

Shoulder dislocations are associated with swelling, pain, and inability to move the shoulder. Surgery might be required, but this isn’t always the case. Instead, rest, rehabilitation, and pain management are commonly used to treat a dislocated shoulder.

3. Ankle Sprains

17% of wakeboarders in a study group reportedOpens in a new tab. having sustained a sprained ankle while wakeboarding. Fortunately, however, ankle sprains aren’t too serious and rarely require a trip to the hospital. Pain, swelling, and pain when stepping on the foot are common symptoms of a sprained ankle.

Rest, ice, and pain management is the most common treatment for sprained ankles. However, in severe cases, there may also be torn ligaments in addition to the sprained ankle. In this case, medical attention is needed to repair the damage. Ankle sprains often happen when doing stunts or falling and twisting your ankle in the wakeboard’s boot.

4. Lacerations

Cuts and lacerations are another common wakeboarding injury. They can happen at any time, such as when you fall and hit the board, do a stunt, or get in and out of the boat. Depending on the severity of the laceration, you may require medical attention to get stitches.

Fortunately, cuts sustained from wakeboarding are rarely severe and hardly ever life-threatening. However, it is recommended that you stop the activity when you get a cut and get out of the water to reduce the chances of getting an infection. 

5. Fractures

In rare cases, people also sustain fractures from wakeboarding. These include ankle fractures, shoulder fractures, femur fractures, and a broken back or neck in extreme cases. However, there aren’t any recorded incidents of a broken back or neck from the studies conducted about common wakeboarding injuries.

In addition, many people get whiplash when they fall while wakeboarding, and concussions are also reasonably common among wakeboarders. As you can see, there are 5 common injuries people can sustain while wakeboarding. However, most injuries aren’t life-threatening, and the recovery rate is high.

The possible injuries you can sustain while wakeboarding is also associated with other water sports. Therefore, wakeboarding isn’t more dangerous than most other water sports. While you cannot be sure that you will not get injured, you can take preventative measures to reduce your chances of sustaining unnecessary injuries.

Safety Measures To Prevent Wakeboarding Injuries

While there always is a risk of getting injured, you can do a lot to prevent yourself from serious injuries while wakeboarding by following specific safety tips. These tips will help protect you against injuries and make your wakeboarding experience more enjoyable.

  • Wear a Lifejacket. The most important safety measure you must take when wakeboarding is to wear a lifejacket. If you fall and hit your head, you can be knocked unconscious, and in this case, your lifejacket can prevent you from drowning.
  • Protect your knees. As ACL tears are some of the most common wakeboarding injuries, you should protect your knees as far as possible. Don’t lock your knees out or make them straight when you brace while wakeboarding.
  • Stay focused while wakeboarding. You can easily get injured when you lose focus. Therefore, you must stay focused while wakeboarding. Watch the spotter and look out for any objects in the water.
  • Wakeboard during the day in clear skies. Another way to prevent a wakeboarding injury is to only wakeboard during the day and when you have clear visibility. For example, don’t wakeboard in the dark when you cannot see hidden objects. Also, avoid wakeboarding in misty weather or during a storm.
  • Wear a helmet. Finally, wearing a helmet will protect you when falling and help reduce your chances of getting a concussion or drowning. Head injuries are a serious concern when wakeboarding, so wearing a helmet can help prevent serious head injuries.

Another tip to remember is to ensure there aren’t objects in the water, such as sand banks or fallen trees, before wakeboarding. Also, ensure the person driving the boat is qualified and knows what to do if there is a problem.

Although there is always a chance of getting injured while wakeboarding, you can reduce the chances of getting severe injuries by taking the proper safety measures and being alert while you are wakeboarding.

Conclusion

The most common wakeboarding injuries are ACL tears, dislocated shoulders, ankle sprains, lacerations, and fractures. Fortunately, most of these injuries aren’t too severe and can be treated with rest and painkillers at home.

You can reduce the chances of getting seriously injured while wakeboarding by wearing a life jacket, protecting your knees, only wakeboarding in the daytime, and wearing a helmet. Although you can never guarantee that you won’t get injured, you can rest assured that your chances of sustaining severe injuries are reduced if you take the proper safety measures.

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