Un study A study by neurosurgeon Elena How presented at the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons Annual Scientific Congress in Brisbane in 2016 showed that one surfer is hospitalized per day on the crowded beaches of Australia's Gold Coast.

The neurosurgeon took into account injuries suffered by patients who practice bodysurfing and surfing between 2010 and 2015, a period in which more than 2.000 surfers were treated at the Gold Coast University Hospital and two others died.

Of the total number of injured, 1526 people were surfing and 516 were bodysurfing.

“People surf without realizing how dangerous it can be,” the neurosurgeon said at a conference to present her work.

The study explains that cuts to the face and head are the most common injuries in surfers, followed by sprains, cuts in other parts and fractures.

He also noted that there are times of year when hospitalizations spike: “When the big swells come in and in the summer months when there are more inexperienced people in the water,” How said. “I find it interesting that a lot of people focus on the risk of sharks when they are more likely to get hurt much closer to shore.”