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Surfer's myelopathy: case report and review

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2015

Amna Karabegovic ,
Shirley Strachan-Jackman  and
David Carr
Amna Karabegovic
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network, Toronto, ON Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON
Shirley Strachan-Jackman
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network, Toronto, ON
David Carr*
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network, Toronto, ON Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON
*
Emergency Department, Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network, 399 Bathurst Street, Toronto, ON M5T 2S8; e-mail: david.carr@uhn.on.ca.

Abstract

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Nontraumatic spinal cord injury from surfing is a new entity first described in 2004 and likely of ischemic etiology. We report the case of a 25-year-old man who presented to the emergency department with a 2-week history of lower extremity weakness after surfing in Indonesia. The patient reported developing low back pain, lower extremity weakness, sensory changes, and urinary retention shortly after his first surfing lesson. The patient was subsequently diagnosed with surfer's myelopathy. The purpose of this report is to review the clinical presentation, etiology, risk factors, and management of this increasingly described entity.

Keywords

myelopathyparaparesisspinal cord injurysurfersurfing
Type
Case Report • Rapport De Cas
Information
Canadian Journal of Emergency Medicine , Volume 13 , Issue 5 , September 2011 , pp. 357 - 360
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians 2011

References

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