Surfing’s Hidden Headache: The Growing Concern of Concussions
Owen Wright, Albee Layer, India Robinson, Billy Kemper, Kai Lenny, Jamie Mitchell, Stirling Spencer, Courtney Conlogue, Koa Rothman, Jeremy Flores, Shawn Dollar, Nikki Van Dijk, Tyler Wright, Natxo Gonzalez, and Jack Robinson. These aren’t the cast members of a surfing-themed reality show, but a list of surfers who have all battled serious concussion issues throughout their careers. And it may only scratch the surface of a widespread problem within the sport.
“The worst was when I didn’t feel like a surfer. Surfing wasn’t a goal. My only goal was at some stage in the future to sit and have a coffee with a friend with no pain,” said Natxo Gonzalez, reflecting on the debilitating effects of his concussion.
The Basque big-wave surfer suffered two concussions in 2023 – one at Puerto Escondido and another six months later at Nazaré. He continued to surf, even winning big wave events, until the pain became unbearable. He spent five months in bed, battling a relentless migraine and unable to tolerate even simple tasks like turning on a light.
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Gonzalez’s injuries, like many others, didn’t stem from direct head impacts. Instead, they were caused by the “whiplash” movement as the head is jerked back and forth during a wipeout or impact from a wave. This is known as Diffuse Axonal Injury (DAI), where rotational or acceleration-deceleration forces tear the brain’s nerve fibers. While commonly associated with car accidents and falls, DAI is increasingly recognized in heavy wipeouts.
While helmets can reduce impacts from boards or reefs, their effectiveness in preventing these types of concussions remains limited.
Gonzalez found himself lacking support and information regarding his concussion, a situation echoed by several other professional surfers who have experienced similar periods of pain, isolation, and depression.
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Albee Layer has been particularly vocal about the impact of concussion, detailing how a 2019 Jaws contest injury led to depression. “I was not myself a lot of the time. Depression, I had full mental breakdowns at times. It got to the point where I wanted to hurt myself. It was bad,” Surfer reported last year.
Layer sought treatment and connected with others who had suffered head injuries, including Shawn Dollar, a former big-wave world record holder. Dollar shared a mantra that helped Layer gain perspective: “It’s an injury, it isn’t you.”
“The hardest part is that no one understands it,” said Stirling Spencer in his film, Are You Serious? “If people understood, I could’ve healed in probably two years. It’s been five years, and I’m probably 50 per cent.”
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Spencer’s film details his eventual diagnosis of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and post-concussion syndrome after being hit in the head by a surfboard fin. This led to a spiral into suicidal depression before he found a doctor, Dr. J. Douglas Brown, who aided his recovery.
Gonzalez faced a similar journey. After a local doctor advised him to end his surfing career, he struggled to find solutions. Inspired by Spencer’s film, he sought further answers, reaching out to his sponsor, Red Bull, and disclosing the full extent of his injuries. Red Bull provided support and connected him with specialists who offered a diagnosis and a path to recovery. His recent performances at Mullaghmore and Morocco demonstrate his return to form.
“I still believe many surfers are having micro impacts and concussions every surf,” he said, “and so that over time that has to have a massive impact.”
Related: World Champion Surfer Undergoes Brain Surgery After Surfboard Fractures Skull
A study, Concussion Incidence, Mechanism, and Perspectives Among Elite Australian Surfers, conducted at Surfing Australia’s High Performance Centre, found that 13 of 40 elite surfers had a history of diagnosed concussion, and 95% reported potential symptoms after wipeouts. “Contact versus the water surface” was identified as the primary mechanism of injury.
The study also revealed that many surfers experienced symptoms consistent with concussion but were not formally diagnosed, highlighting a gap in awareness and medical attention. Researchers recommended specific cervical and vestibular testing as a means of injury prevention.
A of surfing head and neck injuries presenting to Emergency Departments in the USA showed that while overall injuries decreased, concussion rates remained steady at 5% of admissions, rising to 8% for those under 20.
These studies likely capture only a fraction of concussions sustained while surfing, as many surfers don’t seek medical attention even when they suspect a concussion.
The number of surfers suffering from the effects of concussion and brain injuries is significant. While big-wave and elite surfers may be overrepresented, even a small percentage of the global surfing population experiencing a concussion translates to a large number of individuals dealing with the issue.
Surfing has a headache. And it’s not going away anytime soon.
