Blue Soler, the first international clinical study to demonstrate the therapeutic benefits of Stand Up Paddleboarding (SUP) in people with chronic conditions, receives recognition from the Catalan Foundation for Sports Medicine.

The Blue Soler project, which aims to generate scientific evidence on therapeutic sport, began in February 2024 with a pilot study, and in October of this year it completed its first phase as a clinical research study, obtaining very promising results. The study evaluates Stand Up Paddle (SUP) as a therapeutic tool in patients with musculoskeletal pathologies. Blue Soler was born from the vision of the patient and for patients, providing tools for better self-care management and empowerment based on sport and promoting healthy lifestyle habits.

The Blue Health Therapeutic SUP Association is led by Carolina Navalón-Martínez, who is the president and also the first woman with a disability in Spain to win the 3 km SUP Race. The project also has the support of the Sports Medicine Unit at Clínic-Sant Joan de Déu, the Catalan Surfing Federation, the Reuma+ Association and other patient organisations. The rest of the Blue Health SUP Association team is made up of José Viladomiu, Geniffer Gutiérrez, Laura Gil and Cristina Viladomiu, a group of volunteers committed to generating social change through sport as a therapeutic tool.

This first pilot study of the Blue Soler project in 2024 involved an initial group of seven volunteer patients and was completed this year, 2025, with a second group of eight more patients who completed the programme as a protocolised clinical study. All participants have disabling musculoskeletal diseases of autoimmune origin. The programme consists of weekly sessions of 90-120 minutes over a period of 3 months under the medical supervision of the Sports Medicine Unit at the Sant Joan de Déu Clinic-Hospital and the clinical coordination of Dr Eva Ferrer Vidal-Barraquer.

The main activity of the programme aims to be protocolised as a medical-therapeutic alternative and focuses on the initiation, adaptation to the environment and development of SUP practice with the support of qualified instructors. The programme is monitored at all times by professionals from the Sant Joan de Déu Clinical Sports Medicine Unit.

The statistical analysis of the results was carried out by Antoni Caparrós, Doctor of Physical Activity and Sport from the University of Barcelona and INEFC and Principal Investigator (PI) of the Blue Soler project. The team has three clinical researchers who evaluate the functional and psycho-emotional results of the project (Montserrat León, Esther Cànovas and Cristina Viladomiu).

At the end of the programme, participants’ feedback indicates satisfaction with both physical and functional improvement, as well as contact with nature, personal achievement and belonging to a community.

The project benefits from strategic mentoring from the Glòria Soler Foundation.

Further information:

Blue Health THERAPEUTIC SUP

www.supterapeutico.org