What has bony ear canals, knobby knees, spotty eyes and a severe case of sunburn?

A surfer, of course.

Those maladies are just some of the more common medical ailments that can hinder a surfer's search for the perfect wave.

People have misconceptions, though, about what it is that makes surfing a dangerous sport, said physician Mark Renneker, president and founder of the San Francisco-based Surfers' Medical Assn., which claims a membership of more than 600 dues-paying doctors worldwide who surf.

"When people think of surfing injuries and ailments, they think of shark attacks, drownings and breaking necks," said Renneker, who also edits Surfing Medicine, the journal for the association. "The truth is, those are rare occurrences."

Less exotic and more chronic are injuries and ailments that occur when surfers spend long hours in the water being exposed to the sun and wind, said Dr. Paula Luber of Prompt Care Emergency Center in Westminster, which cares for a number of patients who have surfing-related injuries.

The injuries and ailments, however, are all preventable, said Luber, who, although not a surfer herself, is married to one.

One of the more common surfing injuries is getting cut by the sharp fins and tails beneath surf boards, Luber said. She advises surfers to sand down the sharp fins (although surfers say this will alter the board's performance) and cover the nose with plastic guards.

Still more dangerous injuries can happen to surfers, although debilitating mishaps are becoming rarer. Paralyzing neck injuries can be sustained when surfers dive into shallow water and hit the beach bottom hard, said physician and surfer John Skinner. He founded Hoag Hospital's Wipeout program--aimed at preventing surfing injuries--in 1983 after he noticed that a large number of patients with spinal-cord injuries were being transported to the Newport Beach hospital directly from area beaches.

Through the program, a 28-minute docudrama was produced that depicts an athlete who was paralyzed after he dove into shallow water. The film, shown to thousands of students throughout Southern California, also offers tips on how to avoid such injuries, which, Skinner believes, are the most tragic.

"One minute, they are young, healthy people and the next, they are paralyzed for life," he said.

Neck injuries are less common now because surfers have learned to become more careful, Skinner said.