Health. On a boat, good practices to protect your back

The alert was given by a team of neurosurgeons from the Timone Hospital in Marseille (AP-HM), in partnership with the Toulon Army Training Hospital and the Applied Biomechanics Laboratory of Aix Marseille University.

In a retrospective study covering a period of 14 years (2006-2020), the authors identified 79 fractures occurring during an excursion on a motorboat.

Are women more affected?

Result: a large majority of lesions (88.9%) concerned the thoracolumbar junction. with vertebral compression fractures, a phenomenon that affected women more than men with an average age of around 45,” they reported.

And to point out a potentially significant functional impact, since there was talk of "a neurological incidence in 7.6% of patients" (sequelae, handicap, etc.)

Waves, the first culprits

The team then contacted the victims in question, 71 in total, to learn more about the circumstances of their accident. It emerged that the majority of the patients had been sitting at the bow of the boat.

In other words, on the front part, the one that cuts through the waves. These waves can be more or less significant and unexpected, to the point of sometimes raising – when the sea is rough but not only – the front of the boat and propelling the people on it into the air! The result was often a violent shock, difficult to anticipate.

Never in front

In this case, the prevention advice is common sense: do not sit or lie down at the front of a boat while it is underway, such as a semi-rigid boat.

This will save your vertebrae and the risk of potentially disabling after-effects. And if you regularly suffer from back pain (herniated disc, etc.), consult your doctor if water activities are included in your vacation program.