Copyright
©The Author(s) 2020. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
Kitesurf injury trauma evaluation study: A prospective cohort study evaluating kitesurf injuries
Christiaan JA van Bergen, Rik IK Weber, Tim Kraal, Gino MMJ Kerkhoffs, Daniël Haverkamp
Christiaan JA van Bergen, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Amphia Hospital, Breda 4818 CK, the Netherlands
Christiaan JA van Bergen, Gino MMJ Kerkhoffs, Academic Center for Evidence based Sports Medicine, Amsterdam 1105 AZ, the Netherlands
Rik IK Weber, Department of Sports Medicine, University Medical Center, Utrecht 3584 CX, the Netherlands
Tim Kraal, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Spaarne Hospital, Hoofddorp 2134 TM, the Netherlands
Gino MMJ Kerkhoffs, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Amsterdam University Medical Center, Amsterdam 1105 AZ, the Netherlands
Daniël Haverkamp, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Xpert Clinic, Amsterdam 1103 TB, the Netherlands
Author contributions: van Bergen CJA, Weber RIK and Kraal T are kitesurfers, analyzed the data and wrote the paper; Weber RIK, Kraal T and Haverkamp D designed and performed the study; Kerkhoffs GMMJ and Haverkamp D commented on the drafts.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the Slotervaartziekenhuis and Reade Institutional Review Board.
Clinical trial registration statement: This study was not registered in a clinical trial registration.
Informed consent statement: All involved persons gave their informed consent prior to study inclusion.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflict of interest to report.
Data sharing statement: There is no additional data available.
CONSORT 2010 statement: The authors have read the CONSORT 2010 Statement. The manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CONSORT 2010 Statement as far as possible because the study is not a randomized controlled trial.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Christiaan JA van Bergen, MD, PhD, Surgeon, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Amphia Hospital, Molengracht 21, Breda 4818 CK, the Netherlands.
cvanbergen@amphia.nl
Received: December 18, 2019
Peer-review started: December 18, 2019
First decision: January 6, 2020
Revised: March 14, 2020
Accepted: March 26, 2020
Article in press: March 26, 2020
Published online: April 18, 2020
Processing time: 117 Days and 13.3 Hours
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background
Kitesurfing is a rapidly growing extreme water sport with a high injury potential.
Research motivation
The only prospective study on kitesurf injuries is from 2004. Kitesurf equipment has developed over the past years.
Research objectives
The purpose of the study was to identify injury patterns and incidence rates of kitesurfers with modern equipment.
Research methods
A prospective study was performed investigating a large number of kitesurfers during a full kitesurf season.
Research results
The injuries were similar to previous research, despite the use of modern equipment. Furthermore, the injury rate was within the range of other extreme sports.
Research conclusions
Kitesurfing is a relatively safe water sport, although severe injuries do occur.
Research perspectives
To further decrease the risk of injuries, future studies can be directed towards the use of protective gear as well as other protective measures such as designated areas.
