Skimboarding is an increasingly popular water sport similar to surfing. As a wave recedes, a round wooden disc is thrown into shallow water. The participant runs and jumps onto the disc to try to ride this board along the beach or into the surf. Unfortunately the learning curve is steep. Protective equipment is not usually worn. There is little tuition and the potential dangers are not widely understood.
Over a 5 month period—May to September 2003—10 patients were seen by the fracture team at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust. Of the 10, eight were male, with an average age 18.7 (range 12–31).
There was an equal incidence of left and right sided injuries. All the injuries were closed with no neurovascular symptoms or signs. Eight were to the lower limb, all of which were fractures of the distal tibia, ankle, and mid‐foot. Six patients required hospital admission with eight operations performed.
Skimboarding is associated with frequent falls and injuries, similar to those sustained in skating, rollerblading, and skateboarding. However, while the most common injuries from these sports are to the wrist (33%), the skimboarding injuries recorded in this study were predominantly to the lower limb, reflecting the fact that these are usually high energy torsional falls. A multitude of soft tissue injuries from skimboarding were seen by the hospital's A&E department in the same period. The authors think there should be a warning on the boards at point of sale, indicating the high risk of injury.
▴ Williams MR, et al. Emergency Medicine Journal 2006;23:137
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