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New Health Study Casts Doubt On
Fly Fishing
It may be just as hard on the
body as tennis and other sports
By Lee Bowman
Scripps Howard News Service
It's perceived as the ultimate stress-buster, but it
turns out that flyfishing is just about as hard on the
back, arms, wrists and elbows as more competitive sports
like golf, tennis and baseball, according to a new
study.
Dr. Keith Berend, chief orthopedic surgery resident at
Duke University Medical Center and an avid flyfisherman,
used an online and in-person survey to study the fishing
habits and health of 131 adult anglers.
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Flyfishing may not
be quite as relaxing as one might think,
according to a new study. |
He found that 69 percent of the fishermen reported lower
back pain, up to 25 percent reported pains in their
hands, wrists, shoulders and knees and 18 percent
reported elbow pain.
Berend presented his results last week at the annual
meeting of the Southern Orthopedic Association in Coeur
d'Alene, Idaho.
"The sport of flyfishing is growing in popularity, and
this study was an attempt to get a better handle on the
types of maladies we are seeing more often in orthopedic
clinics," Berend said. "The results demonstrate that
these maladies seem to mirror those seen in other, more
studied recreational activities."
Berend explained that the repetitive motions involved in
keeping a lure far away from the fisherman and keeping
it active to mimic a live insect or bait, leads to the
same sorts of shoulder, elbow and wrist complaints heard
from tennis and baseball players.
"Simply put, repetitive motions in general can cause
problems," he said. "It is even worse if this repetitive
motion — whether during fishing or tennis — occurs
intensely and sporadically, like the typical weekend
warrior. Staying in shape on a continual basis should
help reduce the level of these pains."
Different casting techniques can also create shoulder
pain, just as pitching a baseball the wrong way can lead
to injury. The study found that frequent saltwater
fishermen, who typically use heavier gear, had much
higher rates of shoulder and elbow pain than did anglers
who stuck mainly to freshwater.
Berend wants to study further the mechanics of casting
and the effects on shoulder muscles. "We hope to be able
to come up with strategies to prevent or reduce pain and
increase performance, like we have done for other
sports."
The reasons for back and leg pains are more complicated,
Berend explained.
Many fly fishermen stand on rocky, uneven surfaces in
fast-moving water for long periods, which can put stress
on the legs and back. Also, since they stand in the
middle of the stream, they carry a lot of gear in vests.
"Some fishermen load their vests with too much weight to
save trips back to the shore, while others wear vests
that don't equally distribute the weight across the
body," Berend said.
For his study, Berend posted a notice on the top 10
Internet sites visited by fly-fishing fans, inviting
them to take part in the survey. During a one-month
period, 89 anglers completed the questionnaire.
To test the results, Berend took surveys to a meeting of
the North Carolina chapter of Trout Unlimited, a
national conservation group. Another 42 anglers
completed the same survey. He found there was little
statistical difference in the age or prevalence of
physical complaints between the two groups.
Surprisingly, though, Berend said there was no
correlation between the number of days a year people
said they fished, and the pain they experienced, nor was
there any relationship between age and the physical
complaints.
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