Holiday beach warning as surf injuries set to spike over summer

Beachgoers are being warned to take extra care this summer, as medical experts and lifesavers fear surf-related spinal injuries could surge across the Sunshine Coast.

Director of trauma services at Sunshine Coast University Hospital (SCUH) Andrew Hobbins King said the health service regularly saw an increase in younger patients presenting with surf-related injuries during holiday periods.

Injuries ranged from head knocks, concussions and broken limbs to devastating spinal fractures, spinal cord injuries and, in some cases, death.

Dr Hobbins King said patients could go from enjoying "the greatest day of their life on the beach" to facing a life-altering injury in seconds.

"These injuries are catastrophic with a lifelong disability, and if we can just prevent one of these from happening, then that's good for us and the consumers," he said.

While about 14 per cent of all spinal cord injuries seen at SCUH were linked to the beach, the trauma director said his team saw that proportion rise to one-third of spinal injuries during December and January.

He added that official statistics did not capture the full extent of the problem because patients who broke their backs without other significant injuries did not necessarily meet the formal definition of major trauma.

As a result, people with serious, life-changing spinal injuries could be missing from the figures.

Dr Hobbins King said men were statistically at greater risk of surf-related spinal injuries due to increased risk-taking behaviour.

A dangerous mix

Surf Life Saving Queensland regional operations manager Aaron Purchase said dangerous conditions were not limited to beaches with large waves.

Shallow water, outgoing tides and dumping waves could all increase the risk of spinal injuries.

"Dumping waves are the biggest contributing factor to the spinal injuries that we do see on our beaches," Mr Purchase said.

He identified Noosa and Mooloolaba as areas of particular concern, attributing the risk to their bowl-shaped beach profiles, which could produce dumping waves when water levels dropped.

He said body surfing was a common cause of spinal injuries because swimmers were at risk of striking the sand head-first if a wave broke beneath them.

Clinical nurse consultant with SCUH's trauma service Esther Bentley said surf-related spinal injuries "don't discriminate" and can "happen to anybody".

"We see the full range of ages, from the most experienced of surfers who are out there having the time of their life like any other given day and just, for whatever reason, something is different, to a grandpa who is body surfing with his grandkids," she said.

Ms Bentley said hospital staff had seen a steady increase in spinal and major trauma associated with surf injuries over the past five years.

"We always brace for an increase in presentations over the holiday season," she said.

With thousands expected to flock to the region over summer, Mr Purchase urged beachgoers to only swim between the flags, so if an accident happened, surf lifesavers could act quickly.

"Whether they're a local or a tourist, find those closest set of flags and make the effort to spend that extra bit of time travelling to them," he said.