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Injury Patterns in Water Sports on the Levantine Coast: A Single-Center Study.
Noa Martonovich1,2, Assil Mahamid1,2, Binyamin Finkel1,2
1Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Hillel Yaffe Medical Center, Hadera, Israel.
Wilderness & Environmental Medicine
|December 5, 2025
Summary
Surfing caused the most water-sport injuries along the Levantine coast, with open wounds and blunt trauma to limbs being most common. Further research is needed to understand injury risks across different water sports.
Area of Science:
- Orthopedics
- Sports Medicine
- Public Health
Background:
- The Levantine coast presents unique environmental and demographic factors influencing water-sport safety.
- Limited region-specific data exists on water-sport injury patterns.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize water-sport injuries on the Levantine coast.
- To identify injury types, anatomical locations, and sport-specific distributions.
Main Methods:
- Prospective observational study conducted at a Levantine coastal emergency department.
- Real-time data collection on injuries from various water sports including demographics, injury type, body region, and sport.
- Included surfing, kitesurfing, windsurfing/wing-foiling, swimming/freediving, kayaking, and motorized boards.
Main Results:
- 66 water-sport injuries were recorded in 62 patients (mean age 33.7 years, 77.4% male).
- Surfing was the leading cause of injury (48.5%), followed by kitesurfing (18.2%) and swimming/freediving (15.2%).
- Open wounds (37.9%) and blunt trauma (36.4%) were prevalent, affecting upper (34.8%) and lower limbs (28.8%).
Conclusions:
- Surfing resulted in the highest number of injuries, but participation rates are unknown, preventing incidence calculation.
- Local environmental factors may influence injury mechanisms, but their impact on overall injury rates compared to other regions is unclear.
