When people want to enjoy a day at the beach, the last thing they want is to become injured. Nevertheless, a beach injury can potentially occur whenever people go out surfing and swimming. A beach injury can also occur when someone is having fun with a game of volleyball or just taking a walk through the sand.
Beach Rescues
The United States Lifesaving Association released recent statistics about the number of beach rescues that occurred during 2016. According to these National Lifesaving Statistics, there were 88,620 beach rescues during that year. While it does depend on the beach, riptides and other issues can often occur. Furthermore, when someone isn’t paying attention to how far out they swim, they can often encounter issues with getting back to shore.
Concussions
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that concussion reports increased between 2002 and 2012. In fact, the CDC indicated that there were roughly 3,800,000 concussions in 2012, which was double the number reported ten years earlier.
It’s not unusual for a surfer to receive a concussion when they’re struck by their or someone else’s board. Concussions can also obviously occur when someone collides with a reef or rocks while they’re out swimming or diving. Slips and falls may also account for a number or concussions when people are climbing on rocks or other surfaces.
Surf Injuries
Sports Medicine Australia reported that for every 1,000 days of surfing, there are about 2.2 injuries that occur. This amounts to 0.26 injuries a year for each person that goes surfing. While some of these may be minor injuries, others may be more significant.
There are different types of injuries that are common with surfers:
- Leg injuries: 46%
- Head and facial injuries: 26%
- Trunk and back injuries: 13%
- Shoulder and arm injuries: 13%
Volleyball Injuries
More than half, or 63%, of volleyball injuries occur due to jumping. When playing this sport, it’s not uncommon to twist an ankle or otherwise strain a muscle when landing in the sand after a jump. This can also occur when someone is running to hit the ball and encounters uneven packs of sand or other debris.
Experience the Benefits of Urgent Care
Rather than go to a traditional emergency room for injuries that aren’t life-threatening, there are beach-area urgent care clinics available. It’s important to note that 60% of these urgent care centers won’t keep you waiting as long as a hospital emergency room. In general, you’ll only need to wait about 15 minutes to be seen by a physician or a mid-level provider. Furthermore, there’s an on-site physician all the time at 65% of these centers.
These clinics can provide urgent medical care when someone sustains a sports injury and needs wound treatment. They can also provide stitches and other types of care, such as treatment for pain. While no one wants to be injured when they’re out having a great time at the beach, incidents do occur. As a result, it’s important to remember that there is a local urgent care facility close by to address a beach injury and other types of medical issues.
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