Surf Therapy: The benefits of surfing for patients

We set up surf therapy holidays for professionals and this article in Sud Ouest caught our attention. Here is a transcript:

Handi Surf’s successful experience has led to the creation of a new association dedicated to using board sports to help combat the disease.

The Surf santé association was set up by the same people as twelve years ago. Since then, this first association, designed to enable autistic children to enjoy the pleasures of surfing, has become a national organisation with over one hundred and thirty relay centres.
Building on this experience, the members of the Handi Surf board wanted to go even further. Because it has become clear that practising a sport can be beneficial for people suffering from long-term pathologies. In the right conditions, of course, following protocols drawn up by medical experts and implemented by trained instructors. All in all, it’s the same process that Handi Surf has had to follow to develop.

With Surf santé, we’re just at the beginning of the story » , explains Jean-Marc Saint-Geours, director of Handi surf and appointed first president of the new association. First we had to register the articles of association. That’s now done,’ he continues. Now we need to establish the protocols that can be implemented.

Pas de limite d’âge, ni de niveau Un long travail qui ne peut se faire qu’en lien avec le monde médical. C’est l’affaire d’Olivier Chambres, chirurgien et bien sûr surfeur, qui a accepté d’être le référent médi­cal de Surf santé. Déjà membre de l’organisation internationale Sur­fing medicine, il s’est aussi spécialisé, comme praticien, dans le trai­tement des problèmes d’oreilles des surfeurs.

There are no age or level limits. It’s a long job that can only be done in conjunction with the medical world. That’s the job of Olivier Chambres, surgeon and surfer of course, who has agreed to be Surf santé’s medical referent. Already a member of the international Surfing Medicine organisation, he also specialises in treating surfers’ ear problems.

It is now a question of identifying the illnesses to which it can be adapted and then adapting the practice to these pathologies.
To do this, Olivier Chambres intends to draw on his extensive network within Surfing Medicine.

Of course, there will be no question of level or age,’ he assures us. The right kind of surfing, without any danger, but with the guarantee of experiencing the great sensations that surfing brings, can be within everyone’s reach. It can be an invaluable stimulus.

Volunteers to train François Gouffrant, president of Handi Surf and himself a doctor, confirms: « Many pathologies, whether chronic or not, need supplementary treatment to reinforce their effectiveness. A discipline like surfing or stand-up paddling can provide just that».

Once the protocols have been established, Surf santé will benefit from the Handi Surf network to develop its activities. « We’ve already got the message out and we know that we’ll have volunteers in surf clubs and surf schools to take part in the training », confides Jean-Marc Saint-Geours.