Wakeboarding injuries

[I_squared_r]

I tried my first jump and I was a few feet in the air, but my landing was front edge first and I hit my head hard. I was seeing stars, had a painful head ache for 15 minutes, and today my neck hurts. I’m reading online that concussions can happen. Anyone wear helmets?

 

[Jgorm]

No but my friend busted his forehead and bled like as stuck pig. We were riding without a spotter and he still offered to pull me with blood dropping off his nose. We went back in.

 

[buckbuck]

I laid down the law with my kids that if you go inverted you have to wear a helmet.

 

[Chillypilot]

I had a kid splits his head open when the board hit him in the back of the head. His parents bought him a helmet the next day.

 

[Meetball]

well, i broke my knee surfing lol

 

[Cambo]

Helmets are questionable with wake boarding the issue is the abrupt slow down that can give you a concussion and whip lash the helmet will catch water as you do a face plant and increase the slow down speed . My wife had a concussion we didn’t even get up to speed of 18.5 mph a random wave caught the edge and she face planted . Concussions are strange watching someone repeat the same thing over . The doctor said one more and she is done for the season . It was the first and last that I have seen

 

[2kwik4u]

#1 reason I ride a skate instead of a board. Catching a lip on the skate is no big deal, catching a lip on the board is down right painful. No big air tricks, but I'll take that trade for a lack of concussions.

 

[Julian]

Something like this?

https://jetboaters.net/attachments/neilfaceplant2-wmv.2134/

 

[swatski]

I tried my first jump and I was a few feet in the air, but my landing was front edge first and I hit my head hard. I was seeing stars, had a painful head ache for 15 minutes, and today my neck hurts. I’m reading online that concussions can happen. Anyone wear helmets?

A friend of ours and a competitive wakeboarder broke her neck (front edge caught, face-planting). Helmet alone would not help, need to combine with a neck brace, like what jet ski racers use.
She no longer wakeboards, just surfs.
After a few face plants I've thought of giving up... also why we are switching to surfing more. When we wake board we go real slow, maybe 16.5-17mph.

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[MidnightRider]

Been wakeboarding for years. As I approach 50 I have a harder and harder time justifying the potential for brutal face plants. Took an extra hard one last summer on a wake to wake which prompted me put away the wakeboard for the rest of that summer and to buy a wakeskate this past winter. We’ve been messing around with it this summer and are really liking it. Been trying some tricks (and mostly failing) but to say that the wipe outs are SO MUCH easier on the body is an understatement.

 

[I_squared_r]

Helmets are questionable with wake boarding the issue is the abrupt slow down that can give you a concussion and whip lash the helmet will catch water as you do a face plant and increase the slow down speed . My wife had a concussion we didn’t even get up to speed of 18.5 mph a random wave caught the edge and she face planted . Concussions are strange watching someone repeat the same thing over . The doctor said one more and she is done for the season . It was the first and last that I have seen

Concussions are very scary. I locked the front wheel on a motorcycle and it slammed me on the Pavement. I hit my head with so much force that I can’t remember 2 days. It was scary for my family because I asked them “what happened?” A million times. So the brain injury part of wakeboarding scares me. That day I hit my head with enough force to disorient me and see Stars.

I think I’m going to go without a helmet, have my driver slow down to 18mph, and work on my landings. I am suspecting that my brother was going too fast because he never looks at the dash and he apologized to me.. earlier that day he was doing 28 mph for a minute.

 

[2kwik4u]

I am suspecting that my brother was going too fast because he never looks at the dash and he apologized to me.. earlier that day he was doing 28 mph for a minute.

I've come off regular old water ski's at north of 35 (inexperienced captain and debris in the water) and to say it hurts for days is putting it mildly. My wife has found that our jet is MUCH MUCH harder to control the speed with, and she overshoots very easily. She corrects as quick as she can, but it's difficult without some form of cruise control.

Been trying to get just an ollie nailed on the skate for a few seasons now, and almost every time I crash, it's a front lip catch. The result is I just kinda fall into the water at 18mph or so. As long as I release the rope quickly it's really not painful at all.

 

[buckbuck]

So you guys are suggesting it is better not to have a helmet on the kids?

 

[swatski]

So you guys are suggesting it is better not to have a helmet on the kids?
View attachment 100052

Damm, that looks good.

Yes, I would get one DOT approved.

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