Pattern of sport injuries at the 15th Nigeria National Sports Festival

Abstract

Background and Purpose. Sport injuries represent the most important adverse consequence of sports activities and a frequent reason for non performance at sport events. There are limited studies on pattern and management of sport injuries among athletes in Nigeria. This study investigated the pattern of sport injuries and also identified physiotherapy utilization by the athletes during the 15th Nigeria National sports festival. Methods. This study reviewed the medical records of all the athletes that reported at the sport clinic. Only 204 case charts met the inclusion criteria for sport injuries and were used in the analysis.
Results. The highest incidence of sport injuries resulted from football (22.1%). Soft tissue injuries were the most common type of injuries among the athletes (70.1%) with a higher incidence in contact sports than non-contact sports (81.2 vs. 60.7%). Ankle (25.7%) followed by the knee joint (24.8%) were the most commonly injured anatomical sites. 73.5% of all the injured athletes received physiotherapy intervention. Cryotherapy and Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation respectively in combination with other modalities were the most utilized form of physiotherapy.
Conclusion. Sport injuries are common among athletes in Nigeria and it constitutes a significant burden on physiotherapy facility. The pattern of sport injuries observed is typical of reports from previous studies and from different populations. The extent of sport injuries call for preventive actions in subsequent national sport events.

Key words:

athletes, case review, nigerians, physiotherapy, sport injury.