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Surfing is more than just catching waves. It's a physically demanding sport that requires strength, mobility, balance, endurance and coordination. But are you preparing your body for the demands of the ocean?
Whether you're a recreational surfer enjoying the waves at Currumbin Alley or a competitive surfer pushing your performance, building strength in the right muscle groups can help you paddle more efficiently, improve control on your board and manage the physical demands of surfing.
Why Do Surfers Experience Injuries?
Surfing places repeated physical demands on several areas of the body.
From prolonged paddling and repeated pop-ups to powerful turns and maintaining balance on an unstable surface, surfers rely on coordinated movement across multiple joints and muscle groups.
Research by James Furness from Bond University identified the following commonly reported chronic injury locations among surfers:
Lower back (23.2%)
Shoulder (22.4%)
Knee (12.1%)
While injuries can occur from unpredictable events such as falls and collisions, other problems may develop gradually through repeated loading, inadequate recovery or a mismatch between physical capacity and surfing demands. This is where targeted physiotherapy and strength training can help.
5 Key Muscle Groups
1. Shoulders and Rotator Cuff — For Stronger, More Efficient Paddling
Paddling takes up a large part of surfing and puts a lot of work through your shoulders and upper back. Strong shoulder and back muscles help you:
· Paddle for longer without getting tired.
· Move your arms more easily and efficiently.
· Keep your shoulders strong and stable.
· Reduce the risk of shoulder injuries.
Key muscles: Shoulders, rotator cuff (small muscles around your shoulder joint) and upper back.
2. Core and Spinal Muscles — For Stability and Control
Your core includes the muscles around your stomach, sides and lower back. These muscles help keep you steady while paddling and standing on your board. A strong core helps you:
· Stay balanced on your board.
· Twist and turn more easily.
· Support your lower back while paddling.
· Move smoothly between paddling and standing.
Key muscles: Abdominals (stomach muscles), side muscles and lower back muscles.
3. Glutes and Hip Muscles — For Powerful Turns and Stability
Your glutes (bottom muscles) and hips help you control your movements when riding a wave. Strong hips and glutes help you:
· Make stronger, smoother turns.
· Stay stable when changing direction.
· Keep your knees and hips in a good position.
· Generate more power through your legs.
Research by Furness found that competitive surfers had greater hip movement than recreational surfers, suggesting that hip flexibility is also important for surfing.
Key muscles: Glutes (bottom muscles) and muscles around the hips.
4. Quadriceps and Hamstrings — For Pop-Ups and Board Control
Getting from lying on your board to standing is called a pop-up. This movement requires strength, speed and coordination. Once you're standing, your legs help you stay low, absorb bumps and control your board. Strong thigh muscles help you:
· Pop up onto your board more easily.
· Stay in a low, balanced surfing position.
· Absorb the movement of waves.
· Keep your knees stable during turns.
Key muscles: Quadriceps (front of thighs), hamstrings (back of thighs) and glutes.
5. Calves and Ankle Muscles — For Balance and Board Control
Your feet and ankles are constantly making small adjustments to help you stay balanced on your board. Strong and flexible ankles help you:
· Stay balanced on moving waves.
· Shift your weight between your feet.
· Keep control of your board during turns.
· Maintain a low surfing position.
Research by Furness found that competitive surfers had greater ankle flexibility than recreational surfers.
Key muscles: Calves, muscles around the ankles and small muscles in the feet.
How Can Physiotherapy Help Surfers?
Physiotherapy isn't just for when you're injured. A physiotherapist can assess your current physical capacity, identify limitations relevant to your surfing and develop an individualised strengthening program. At Gold Coast Physiotherapy, a surf-specific assessment may include:
1. Baseline Movement & Strength Screening
2. Identification of Underlying Deficits - Movement, Strength, Balance, Endurance & Stability
3. Individualised Exercise & Rehabilitation Programming
Can Strength Training Prevent Surfing Injuries?
Strength training is an important part of improving physical capacity and is widely used in sports injury prevention and rehabilitation. However, it's important to recognise that surfing injuries are influenced by multiple factors, including wave conditions, surfing exposure, fatigue, previous injuries and the type of manoeuvres performed.
Although Furness's research identified differences in mobility and physical characteristics between competitive and recreational surfers, it did not establish that strengthening specific muscles directly prevents surfing injuries. Instead, targeted strength training should be viewed as one component of a broader approach to improving surfing performance, managing symptoms and preparing the body for the demands of the sport.
Surf Stronger with Gold Coast Physiotherapy
Whether you're experiencing shoulder pain after paddling, lower back discomfort during longer sessions or simply want to improve your strength and performance in the water, physiotherapy can help.
At Gold Coast Physiotherapy, we offer individualised assessments, gym-based rehabilitation and progressive strengthening programs tailored to your goals. We work with both proffessioanl and recreational surfers and build programs to meet a minimum standard for all our surfers. Our aim is to help you build strength, improve mobility and stay confident in the water, so you can spend more time doing what you love.
Ready to build a stronger body for surfing? Contact our team to book a physiotherapy assessment.
References:
Furness, J. (2016). Musculoskeletal and physiological profile of elite and recreational surfers: Injuries and sports specific screening [Doctoral thesis, Bond University]. https://research.bond.edu.au/en/studentTheses/musculoskeletal-and-physiological-profile-of-elite-and-recreation/
Furness, J. W., Hing, W. A., Sheppard, J. M., Newcomer, S. C., Schram, B. L., & Climstein, M. (2018). Physiological profile of male competitive and recreational surfers. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 32(2), 372–378. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000001623
Hanchard, S., Duncan, A., Furness, J., Simas, V., Climstein, M., & Kemp-Smith, K. (2021). Chronic and gradual-onset injuries and conditions in the sport of surfing: A systematic review. Sports, 9(2), 23. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports9020023
McArthur, K., Jorgensen, D., Climstein, M., & Furness, J. (2020). Epidemiology of acute injuries in surfing: Type, location, mechanism, severity, and incidence: A systematic review. Sports, 8(2), 25. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports8020025
Minasian, B., & Hope, N. (2022). Surfing on the world stage: A narrative review of acute and overuse injuries and preventative measures for the competitive and recreational surfer. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 56(1), 51–60. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2021-104307
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