Surfing Medicine International

Surfing Medicine International "Keeping the Surfer Healthy and Safe" | Non-profit, volunteer-based organization | Documentary: https://vimeo.com/361690283 SMI

Surfing Medicine International (SMI) was founded as a non-profit, volunteer-based organisation in order to "Keep the Surfer Healthy and Safe" by connecting Doctors and Allied Health Professionals with a passion for surfing. Whether you are a dermatologist from the Fjords of Norway, or a physiotherapist from the cape of Portugal, we all share the same magic love for riding waves. With an internatio

nal network of passionate people who share our stoke, SMI aims to make a positive contribution to the health and well-being of surfers across the globe by developing the specific sub-specialization of Medicine, Surfing Medicine, to respond to the needs of an every growing population. Surfing is becoming increasingly popular, with current estimates numbering 37 million surfers worldwide. Surfers may encounter several different types of health issues while riding waves around the globe: trauma to the head or extremities, drowning and hypothermia, UV damage to the skin and eyes, tropical infectious disease from travelling, or stings and bites from marine species are part of this spectrum, to name but a few. By sharing knowledge, expertise, and clinical experience from our membership, representing all medical specialties, we provide the surfer with information on how to stay healthy and safe throughout life. Our current activities include the Annual Conference in Surfing Medicine, at exciting surf locations; Outreach & Public Health Promotion Events (The Surfer's Academy), Inter-Professional Collaboration, Learning, and Scientific Research. If you are interested in what we do, and wish to use your skills to contribute to "Keeping the Surfer Healthy and Safe", please reach out and connect, or feel free to make a donation via our homepage to support our work. Thanks for your support; See you 'out-back' in the water!

United Turning the Tide. 🌊💙Looking back at the Safe at Sea event in The Hague, where we joined forces with some incredib...
06/08/2026

United Turning the Tide. 🌊💙
Looking back at the Safe at Sea event in The Hague, where we joined forces with some incredible organizations to make the ocean a safer place.
Drowning prevention isn’t a solo mission. It takes a community. We were stoked to meet so many awesome people and work alongside:
🚁 KNRM
🚒 HNRB
🏘️ Gemeente Den Haag
🤝 SportSupport
🚩 Reddingsbrigade Nederland
By bringing surfers, lifeguards, and medical experts together, we are turning the tide on preventable accidents. When we share our skills, we empower every surfer to be a potential lifesaver. 🤙✨
The ocean brings us together—let’s look out for each other.
SMI WaterSafety KNRM HNRB DenHaag SurfSafety OceanVibes Lifesaving

Learn it. Practise it. Share it. Save a life.Surf Life Support is about making essential rescue and resuscitation knowle...
25/07/2026

Learn it. Practise it. Share it. Save a life.
Surf Life Support is about making essential rescue and resuscitation knowledge accessible to the people who spend time in and around the water.
At SMI, we bring practical learning to ocean communities—because preparation can change everything in an emergency.
You do not need to be a professional lifeguard to make a difference. Knowing how to recognise danger, get help, use available flotation and start CPR can give someone a chance when they need it most. 💙
This is the future we are working towards:
safer surfers, stronger communities and more lives protected.
SMI FirstAid DrowningPrevention SurfCommunity

Could you help if someone stopped breathing?At the beach, every second matters.During a recent SMI Surf Life Support ses...
25/07/2026

Could you help if someone stopped breathing?
At the beach, every second matters.

During a recent SMI Surf Life Support session, ocean lovers came together to learn and practise essential emergency skills—from recognising danger to delivering CPR.

Surfing teaches us how to read the ocean.
Surf Life Support teaches us how to respond when something goes wrong.

Our mission is to make life-saving knowledge part of surf culture everywhere—so more people are ready to help, safely and confidently, when it matters most. 🌊

Every surfer can be part of a safer ocean community.

SurfingMedicineInternational WaterSafety SurfSafety OceanSafety SurfersWhoCare

Every surfer may one day be someone’s lifeline. 🌊SMI was proud to deliver a resuscitation workshop at the Safe at Sea ev...
25/07/2026

Every surfer may one day be someone’s lifeline. 🌊
SMI was proud to deliver a resuscitation workshop at the Safe at Sea event in The Hague, alongside rescue and water-safety organisations.
Surfing gives us ocean skills, awareness and confidence. With the right training, it can also give us the ability to respond when somebody is in trouble.
At Surfing Medicine International, we are working to make Surf Life Support a core skill in surf communities around the world: helping surfers prevent drowning, carry out safer rescues, provide resuscitation and reduce surf-related injuries.
Because when it matters most, knowledge can save a life. 💙
Thank you to everyone involved in this powerful day of learning, collaboration and action.

SurfingMedicineInternational SurfSafety Resuscitation OceanSafety SurfersWhoCare TheHague SurferHealth EducationPreventionCommunity

🧠 Drowning is a disease of the brain, with lung complications.Lack of oxygen leads to death and all associated injury. T...
23/05/2026

🧠 Drowning is a disease of the brain, with lung complications.

Lack of oxygen leads to death and all associated injury. Time = Brain.

For cardiac arrest secondary to drowning — start with 5 ventilations. Apply oxygen to all drowning victims as soon as possible.

Every patient is different. Covered in sunscreen, slippery, difficult to handle — from big and heavy, to the small and young.

Every line-up is different. Heavy shore break close to the beach with a fast extraction, to remote reefs with a long one.

Every day we have different capacity. Gauge your own capacity and risk. Ask for help.

Don't drown for love. 🖤

Reflection on Hui - Surf Life Support, Raglan New ZealandWhere sits the surf community in the Prepare section -> "Drowni...
15/05/2026

Reflection on Hui - Surf Life Support, Raglan New Zealand

Where sits the surf community in the Prepare section -> "Drowning Prevention Time-line"?

Our audience in Raglan reflected - with great contribution from two 9-year old local grommets!

Surfers are in sync with the ocean environment — a finely tuned environmental awareness that is itself the foundation of drowning prevention.

A cultural shift is evolving: the complete surfer is no longer defined solely by aerials or critical manoeuvres, but by the capacity to keep themselves and others alive in the environments they inhabit.

For our children, future Surfing generations - we should evolve a pathway from basic ocean safety to rescue & resuscitation alongside progressive surfing skills, so that every young surfer graduates not only as an athlete but as a competent first responder. More research to be done how to gradually bring this along, to ensure safe integration.

We are looking forward to have more in depth discussions - we know Surfers Save Lives! Let us know your thoughts on where the Surf Community can make a difference - Prepare | Prevent | React | Mitigate

Original publication:
PMID: 27575579.
https://lnkd.in/ePeFNskV

Kia Ora - SMI will visit Raglan New Zealand! An evening of kōrero, inspiration & connection - Are you ready for the next...
08/05/2026

Kia Ora - SMI will visit Raglan New Zealand!

An evening of kōrero, inspiration & connection - Are you ready for the next encounter with a drowning victim in the line-up?

We will share stories, learn from unique scenarios and learn vital lessons.

Have you been involved in a drowning incident or encountered an injured surfer - connect with us to share your story!

Free event

Registration only - limited seats

https://surflifesupport.eventbrite.com

🌊 Ride the Wave, Stay in the Game! 🏄‍♂️The Olympic Get Set – Train Smarter app is built for athletes who live for the oc...
06/02/2026

🌊 Ride the Wave, Stay in the Game! 🏄‍♂️
The Olympic Get Set – Train Smarter app is built for athletes who live for the ocean. Whether you’re charging heavy peaks or carving local breaks, this app is your ultimate partner to enhance performance and keep you out of the “wipeout zone.”
Tailored specifically for the surfing community, the app brings elite-level sports science right to your fingertips.

Why surfers need this in their quiver:
🔹 Boost Your Performance: Targeted exercises to explosive strength, razor-sharp flexibility, and better board control.
🔹 Stay Injury-Free: We focus on injury management so you can spend more time in the green room and less time on the sidelines.
🔹 Train Anywhere: No signal? No problem. Download your training videos and hit your routine even at the most remote surf camps.

The Get Set app, , and are the result of a powerhouse collaboration between the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center. We are dedicated to pushing the limits of injury prevention and performance, especially for the next generation of youth athletes.
Don’t let an injury cut your session short. Train like an Olympian and protect your body.

👉 Grab the free app here:
iOS: https://apps.apple.com/at/app/get-set-train-smarter/id894609112?l=en-GB

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.olympic.app.getset&hl=en-US

SurfingMed Skaderfri SurfLife AthleteHealth IOC SportsScience

Shoulder injuries: surfing’s “silent” top‑3 problemHeavy paddling, repeated pop‑ups and awkward wipeouts all load the sa...
05/02/2026

Shoulder injuries: surfing’s “silent” top‑3 problem
Heavy paddling, repeated pop‑ups and awkward wipeouts all load the same joint – until it fails.

Dr. L. Langenberg and colleagues from Surfing Medicine International () highlighted how common paddling‑related pain, impingement and dislocations are in surfers – and how much of this is preventable.

🔗 Dr. Langenberg’s shoulder research in surfers:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33409808/

Our goal was to make shoulder‑specific prevention standard in surf training, so fewer surfers end up here.

🔗 GET SET – Olympic injury‑prevention app with adaptable shoulder programmes for surfers:

https://www.olympics.com/ioc/news/make-sure-your-body-is-ready-for-exercise-with-get-set-an-easy-to-use-injury-prevention-app

https://apps.apple.com/at/app/get-set-train-smarter/id894609112?l=en-GB

The image says it all: one bad moment in heavy surf.

EvolvingTogether

Centuries of Experience. One Mission.Look closely at this lineup. You aren’t just looking at surfers; you’re looking at ...
29/01/2026

Centuries of Experience. One Mission.

Look closely at this lineup. You aren’t just looking at surfers; you’re looking at a global collective of physicians, health professionals and researchers.
When you add up the cumulative experience of the community, you get centuries of medical expertise applied specifically to the ocean environment.

From drowning research to dermatology from prevention to training, this is the world’s largest "living laboratory" for surfing medicine.

Evolving together to ensure that wherever there are waves, there is world-class medical knowledge standing by.

🌍 Global Community. Evidence-Based Medicine. Safer Lineups.

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Wainui Rd
Raglan
3297

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