August 6, 2014
Pro surfer Nicholas Squiers rides wave of innovative study to prevent surfing injuries
A novel new study that aims to prevent ankle injuries in surfers is underway at UOW.
A new study that aims to prevent injury in surfers is underway at UOW, with professional surfer Nicholas Squiers, who won the Australian Surf Festival Open Men’s titles recently, one of the first to participate.
This innovative project is being conducted in the Biomechanics Research Laboratory at UOW, in collaboration with the Hurley Surfing Australia High Performance Centre and Southern Cross University.
Bachelor of Science (Exercise Science) Honours student James Forsyth (pictured below left) is spearheading the study, which will investigate the biomechanics of landing aerial manoeuvres in surfing.
“We are trying to find out whether ankle stiffness affects the way surfers land their airs, and what implications this has for injuries,” James said.
“It’s been shown that airs are associated with an increase in lower limb injuries, but to date no one has shown how ankle stiffness influences the landing style – particularly in relation to how the muscles of the ankle and knee are affected as a result of ankle stiffness.”
Competitive surfers from the Sydney Metropolitan and South Coast regions of NSW are being recruited for the study.
After physical screening, these surfers will perform a training exercise developed by the Hurley Surfing Australia High Performance Centre that aims to teach surfers safer landing techniques. While performing the aerial manoeuvres James will monitor their muscle activity and ankle range of motion using highly sophisticated biomechanical instrumentation.
“From this research we hope to be able to identify the importance of ankle flexibility for injury prevention in surfing and to establish whether ankle flexibility screening tests that are used in more traditional sports, such as football and basketball, are relevant to surfing so that injury risk can be minimised,” James said.
Interested participants: Please contact James Forsyth, jf933@uowmail.edu.au or +61 2 4221 4480.
Media contact: Grant Reynolds, UOW Media & PR Officer, +61 2 4221 4743, +61 417 010 350 or grantr@uow.edu.au.