Surfing and paddling: shoulders, necks and low backs

Plenty of people drive from Casey down to the Mornington Peninsula and Phillip Island to surf. The body demands of surfing are dominated not by riding waves but by paddling — prone, with the neck extended and the shoulders working overhead, often for hours.

Shoulders

Paddling is a high-repetition overhead movement performed from a prone position, which limits how much the trunk can assist. Rotator cuff and subacromial irritation are the most common surfing complaints we treat. Our shoulder pain page has the detail.

Necks

Lying prone with the head lifted to watch the horizon holds the cervical spine in sustained extension. For a two-hour session that is a considerable load on the joints and muscles at the base of the skull, and it is a common source of post-surf headaches — see headaches and migraine.

Low back

The same prone extended position loads the lumbar facet joints. Surfers with low back pain often present with an extension-sensitive pattern, which needs different early management to the flexion-sensitive pattern seen in desk workers.

The intermittent-athlete problem

Most recreational surfers surf hard when conditions allow and not at all otherwise. That feast-or-famine loading is why injuries cluster around the first good swell after a flat spell.

Preparation that works

Shoulder and mid-back mobility, plus posterior shoulder strength, tolerate paddling far better than an unprepared shoulder does. If you know a swell is coming after weeks of nothing, some preparation in the days before genuinely reduces the risk.

What a first appointment looks like

We start with what actually happened and what the demands of your sport are, then assess the injured area alongside the joints and muscles above and below it — because the painful structure is often not the limiting one. You get a diagnosis, a realistic timeframe, and a plan that accounts for your training and match schedule rather than assuming you can stop. If we think you need imaging or another practitioner, we will say so at that first visit rather than after six sessions.

Booking in

We are at 5/6-8 Langmore Lane, Berwick, with street parking directly outside and same-week appointments most weeks. Initial consultations are 60 minutes and $149, with private health rebates processed on the spot via HICAPS. No referral is required, and we also work with WorkCover, DVA and Medicare care plans where they apply.

Book an initial consultation at RISE Sports & Spinal in Berwick. Clear diagnosis, hands-on treatment, and a plan that actually gets you better.