surfers myelopathy - First-Time Surfers Cautioned About Rare Spinal Injury
Surfer’s myelopathy is a relatively new entity first described by Thompson et al in 2004 (1). They presented a case series of nontraumatic spinal cord injury affecting inexperienced surfers. This case report of a 37-year-old man with surfer’s myelopathy illustrates distinctive features from the original case series with regard to possible risk factors, etiology, and outcomes.
Ischemic nontraumatic spinal cord injury associated with surfing is a novel diagnosis believed to be related to prolonged spine hyperextension while lying prone on the surfboard. Only 9 cases have been documented. This report features possible risk factors, etiology, diagnostic imaging, and outcomes of “surfers myelopathy“.
“Surfer’s myelopathy”, because of its proposed mechanism of injury, is amenable to medical intervention. Increased awareness of this condition may lead to early recognition and treatment, which should contribute to improved neurological outcomes.
Joe Guintu of Los Angeles and his girlfriend Ivette Flores took a trip last year to Hawaii, where Guintu decided to take a surfing lesson. After some brief instruction on the beach, he was in the water and managed to catch a wave almost immediately.
But something wasn’t right. By the end of the lesson, Guintu said, “everything just seemed off.”
As Guintu, 25, got out of the water and headed toward some stairs to return his board, he thought, “This is impossible.”
He couldn’t climb those stairs — he couldn’t even walk. His legs had given out.
