I've been falling off my board a lot lately and l keep banging up the same areas on my body (my sides, my stomach, and my knees). If l keep hurting myself in those areas, will they eventually be damaged?

I'd recommend two things:

If these seems to be as much of a problem as you reffer to it as, then have someone, whether or not, a friend, a collegue, an experienced surfer, etc. to teach you better techniques.

Buy paddings, l know, it seems strange for you, but it is as simple as it can get.

Hope that helped

When you fall do not fall onto the the board fall away from it.

The Surfboard Man
http://thesurfboardman.com

yes you can get hurt
in my video

http://youtube.com/watch?v=6U1t7AjhRAA

me and my friends were surfing in california when you see him fall thats when he fractured his knee

l had the same problem when l first started out. The more you surf, the better you will get. It just takes time.

l used to come back from surfing with bruises all over, but l do not get bruised anymore, because I've learned better techniques in this sport.

l would not worry about it, just keep on surfing, and you will learn from your mistakes.

:)

Nah, l would not waste valuable energy worrying about breaking bones. If you do break a bone, it would be a freak accident. Broken bones in surfing are not common. What are common surfing injuries are muscle pulls and strains. After 20+ years of surfing, it is my experience that good stretching before AND after surfing will help avoid such injuries. Remember, always make a mental note to keep your knees bent at all times when you're on your feet. Mahalo.

First, u need to stop falling off ur board. A little extra time in the water, & maybe some advice from friends or an instructor will fix that.

Second, bumps & bruises do not potentiate into more serious injuries, unless it is repetitive, severe soft tissue injuries. In other words, if u bang ur knee once a week, every week for a month, u will have a badly bruised knee, but it wo not fracture. If it would, there would no no pro football players left. However, one severe impact of sufficient force can fracture a bone.

In 42 years, l have broken fingers, nose & toes while surfing, but l have survived all of them. So, work on not falling, & be careful of any severe falls in shallow water.

first of al things you gotta spend more time in the water. l go surfing every day and theres always room for me to learn. but anyway. when you fall go as far away from the board as you can then when your under water, cover your head. and yes if you keep falling in the same areas as always then you will get bruises and get a little sore.

Jess, l never fail to come home from surfing without at least one bruise, or abrasion. Like most posters advised, fall back, away from the board. I've seen many surfers just voluntarily fall forward when the ride ends. l also remember seeing a video where Rob Machado & his buddies take a paraplegic surfer out to surf again. He was one of the guys who fell forward & broke his neck. So fall on ur back, away from the board. Even competitors fall on occasion. Focus on the basics.