Dr Kirsten Thünemann from Kiel is a trauma surgeon, an active water sportswoman herself and part of the Society for Surf Medicine . She is currently working on a study in which she is comparing injuries and signs of overuse in the areas of windsurfing and windfoiling. Windsurfers are being asked to complete an online questionnaire and describe their injury experiences as part of the study's database.
The survey is available in German, English and French and takes a maximum of ten minutes to complete
Are injuries different when foiling than when windsurfing?
Kirsten Thünemann explains the background to the study: "Many windsurfers keep telling me on the beach that they don't feel well looked after when it comes to treating their water sports injuries - I want to change that. Foiling in particular has changed the injuries that occur. That's how the idea for the study came about." There is no other study of this kind in the world, and the results will also be published in the USA at a later date. "As I'm often out and about in Schilksee, where the iQFoilers also train for their competitions at the Olympic training centre and are currently preparing for the 2024 Olympics, the topic of the study is important, topical and very obvious to me."
The assumption to be investigated in more detail in the study sees different injury patterns: "Statistically speaking, windsurfing is the sport that most frequently causes sprains and bruises to the lower extremities, i.e. the legs. We assume that cuts to the foil are more common in foiling. This would be an important starting point for injury prevention." The study also focussed on the effect of helmets and impact protection waistcoats. Although the medical experts assume that they protect against injuries, helmets, for example, could also lead to dangerous situations being recognised later. Falls at higher speeds, such as those experienced when foiling, can lead to extreme rotational stress on the knee and ankle joints.
Based on the most frequently observed injuries and overuse injuries, Kirsten Thünemann would like to draw up recommendations for injury prevention following the study. In addition, exercise programmes are to be developed in collaboration with the physiotherapists at Surfmedizin e.V. to protect against the most common overuse injuries. "A typical example from surfing is surfers' shoulder, which can be treated and also prevented through specific training," says Thünemann.
