Has anyone had any issues with concussion from foiling whether mild or severe? It is certainly a growing issue in sport especially at AFL and NRL levels and foiling does see some good high speed falls. It is more the concern for possible health issues longer term with early onset of dementia, Parkinson's disease and CTE. But it is hard to gauge whether any of the falls are going to have a negative impact long term whether resulting in no headache, a headache or all the symptoms of concussion. As we are a new sport, there is little information or research on this.

I have been foiling now for nearly 2 years and had some good high speed falls in that time with no effects but a month ago on a reasonably big messy day on takeoff, face planted from a good height and could feel whiplash as my head was forced back. I didn't think anything off it till a few hours later when I got a headache that stayed with me on and off for the next few days.

It has made me more conscious trying to minimise that happening again. I can't see a helmet being any use as most falls seem to catch you on part of your face and would cause more of a whiplash effect. Not falling off is the best strategy and the second best would be to avoid hitting your head on the water but that is difficult when you get a breach at high speed or on a gnarly takeoff. Has anyone had any experiences or has a doctor or neurologist who foils have any thoughts on the matter.

When I was learning I had heaps of massive crashes and I would be diving as far away from the carbon axe as I could. So, I would be stretched out with my arms above my head ribs exposed, resulting in severely bruised ribs, they were black and blue. Not too many problems with the head apart from sore neck due to the whiplash effect as you described. Water is a little softer than people so would not be as bad as a collision sport I believe, having played rugby league for many years, and being concussed a few times.

I tend to fall off head first then my neck gets sore like whiplash. I do wear a gath helmet but mostly for sun protection

I've had harder falls foiling than I ever had waterskiing, which is surprising given how much faster you go on a waterski. That said, wakeboarding gave me some pretty good knocks over the years. I've never felt like I was in danger of a concussion from foiling - mostly its about getting away from the sharp bits that I'm concerned about.

Had a high speed crash on winding. Hit sandbar, got pitched, winded and was joking with Mrs that the bruise on my hip was caused by my balls swinging up through my legs.
Seriously though a helmet is not a bad idea.
The back of an alloy mast could chop your head clean off if you got sucked over the falls.

I am using a helmet everytime i foil/wingfoil now.

Had a couple scares ,it looks silly when going out in small spilling surf but i am old enough not to care much about the coolness factor.

A friend got 7 stitches in his scalp a few days ago,barely waist high surf.

Dutch watersports photographer Ydwer van der Heide got spinal damage when his foil hit a sandbar and he went head first into the sand. I did exactly the same a few years ago mis-judging a sandbar and hitting my head on sand-bar before I could even think to get my hands up to protect the fall. I hit the sand extremely hard and still, to this day, hear crunching sounds in my neck every time I turn my head.

I was lucky - Ydwer has lost mobility in his hands and legs...

Helmet would not have helped in this instance, but I dread to think what would have happened if it was on a reef.

There is a go fund me page if you wish to assist Ydwer with his rehabilitation bills: gofund.me/3c39c0cf

Had a freak accident with a kite on the beach back in 2001 which led to being thrown head first onto hard wet sand quicker than I could put my arms up to protect myself.

I then packed up the kite, but apparently I had been knocked out for about 15 seconds lying motionless on the beach. I didn't remember any of that.

Then drove home with a sore neck that was really sore for a couple of days before it started to feel better. As a precaution I decided to get it checked out before getting back on the water in case I'd done any damage. An x-ray was a bit inconclusive so a CAT scan was done which showed something was not quite right. A 170km trip to get a MRI scan finally showed a broken neck and from then on they wouldn't let me leave the hospital

A few days later some spinal surgery fused a couple of neck vertebrae with some bone from my hip, some titanium and wire. 4 months later I was back on the water thinking how fortunate my accident was to have happened at the end of the season!

As for the effects of concussion, how do I tell if het hdteom nggaezz;;r,,; bBHF llksk8^^fjm.,/. klh;;;;;;;;;

Beginner here.

Have had a few stacks at reasonably high speed on the foil but usually my arms are up holding the wing so they tend to protect the head a bit.

TBH I've had far worse injuries SUP Surfing due to other idiots doing stupid stuff that I have had Foiling.

Any rational discussion of head injury prevention that rules out using helmets is a non-starter. Read the medical literature on helmet safety. This often repeated statement that helmets increase the risk of neck injury has been shown to be false. It is just a convenient excuse for people who don't want to wear helmets because they are kooky or inconvenient.

For me the worst situation is a prone takeoff steep drop on head high plus wave where your feet position on the pop up isn't quite far enough forward to keep the front wing under water just at the point of maxing out your speed. I discovered the effects of benign positional vertigo after a few of those

There's that split second on eject where you're trying to bail out off the side, as well as getting your arms up over your head. Tough ask, but you learn why you never see a tower diver hit the water with arms by their side...

Yeh was proning with a friend and he severely burst his ear drum from the same situation as above. Blood and everything.

yeh has got me thinking about my son. He's learning all those 360 spinny winny things. The other day it came down hard on his leg and corked him good and proper. Figured could easily be his head.


for me ... well I have taken some serious beatings in the past. Especially learning kiting in 1999 etc on those fricken death traps. Plus kite looping in 30 plus knots, stuffing up the late back rolls and getting sent backwards at high speeds from big heights.



so the wing thing ... doesn't seem a problem per say at my level or any level I can hope to achieve at my age. I rarely don't know when I'm coming off, just jump away from the foil, hold the wing high and land. Had a few head rattles but mainly from proning like above.


but for others that wear them I say go for it. Only takes one stuff up to cause some serious strife.

If forty years of windsurfing has taught me anything it is to ALWAYS wear a helmet and an impact/flotation vest. If I don't, I feel naked and it's back to land to put both on and feel "right" again. Now, with the potential of not only making contact with a board but also with a foil, it makes more sense than ever. An ounce of prevention is worth a ton of cure.

Injuries are part of any adrenaline sport.
I played JV and Varsity football in high school, 101 lbs. [really 90], 108 lbs., and 119 lbs. Started both ways.
Roadraced one season, 9 races in 250 Production and 3 races in 250 GP with a bike capable of 150 mph.
Motocrossed 4 seasons, over 150 organized AMA races.
Surfed 20+ years, including over 50 days at Pipe, 15 at big Sunset, and one at Wiamea.
38 years windsurf, in some serious stuff sometimes.
2 seasons windfoil. So far the safest by far.
Never step off, and hold onto boom till you stop.
If you don't wanna get hurt, stay home and don't do anything.

i try and avoid high speed and shallow water - have been some serious permanent injuries and disabilities over the years - hard to avoid coming into shore and in surf. Probably wear Helmut to prevent impact injury with gear

impact vest is one would get the most use with me - particulate ribs and chest as I get older

Not sure how he managed it, but a mate broke his leg and dislocated his ankle the other day gybing wingdinging in flat water FFS.

As said, you can break your leg playing ping pong.
And a shark can bite you anytime in surf.
And skin rash can scrape you on a cruise ship.

I've had plenty of face plants. And after every one of them the uglier I get. Even by wearing a helmet & floatation vest. Haaa!
Most times I face plant ear first so lucky I wear a gath helmet.

Hilly , sorry for your buddy! It's three months since I fractured my Tibia and tore the Meniscus....still recovering. The injury happened while going into a heel side starboard jibe in flat water. I somehow destabilized the foil resulting in the board suddenly changing direction to the left with me going right while the foot was still in the strap.

Looking forward to returning but maybe minus the straps.

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windwakerider said..
Hilly , sorry for your buddy! It's three months since I fractured my Tibia and tore the Meniscus....still recovering. The injury happened while going into a heel side starboard jibe in flat water. I somehow destabilized the foil resulting in the board suddenly changing direction to the left with me going right while the foot was still in the strap.

Looking forward to returning but maybe minus the straps.

Not good. Hope you get better soon.
Not sure no straps will help my mate managed it without straps gybing on a wind swell

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windwakerider said..
Hilly , sorry for your buddy! It's three months since I fractured my Tibia and tore the Meniscus....still recovering. The injury happened while going into a heel side starboard jibe in flat water. I somehow destabilized the foil resulting in the board suddenly changing direction to the left with me going right while the foot was still in the strap.

Looking forward to returning but maybe minus the straps.

dude that's sucks. I tore my meniscus badly twin tipping (minus the tibia fracture - damn) - it's not fun.
Make sure you rehab really, really well.

I didn't and it still gives me grief after a long wing session or multiple days in a row. Or especially after a prone session with lots of pump links.

Thanks guys, Great advise. I'm evening doing 'Knees over toes guys' routines to help... hopefully a full Nordic Hamstring Curl by the end of the year :) eppo , hope your knee feels better soon....the pain at night is a bitch!

Nah I'm well Past the injury. But it's one of those annoying constant niggles that I should have rehabbed properly after surgery. Then again both ankles and both knees have been under the knife bahahahhahaha.

better to bust than rust man.