Sports Injuries among Athletes in Ideato, Imo State

Abstract

The study was descriptive in nature with the main purpose of determining sports injuries, causes and preventive measures among athletes in Ideato, Imo State. Three objectives guided the study. The population was 192 athletes registered with the Ideato Sports Unit comprising Ideato North and South LGAs, Imo State. The sample for the study consisted of 30 active athletes selected through purposive sampling technique. The instrument used for data collection was a 30-item questionnaire developed by the researchers. The instrument was validated by three experts in public health, health and physical education. A pretest of the instrument was conducted and the data generated were subjected to Spearman’s Rank order correlation coefficient with a value of 0.85 achieved. Descriptive statistics of frequency and percentage were used for data analysis. Results showed that the most common sports injuries among athletes in Ideato were sprain (93.0%), strain (90.0%), and dislocation (83.3%). The result also showed that rough tackle or challenge from opponents (86.7%) and overuse (80.0%) were the most common causes of sports injuries in the area while the use of drugs was the least cause of sports injuries identified by the respondents. The most frequently indicated preventive method by the study sample was proper warming-up/conditioning (83.3%). Others included regular use of safety equipment and adequate supervision by coaches which tied at 70.0 per cent. One of the recommendations made in the study included formulating policies to prevent sports injuries and enforcing them strictly among athletes in Ideato, Imo State.