Epidemiology of Sports Injuries in Nigeria... In Nigeria prevention is our cure…! Prevention of injuries should always be a priority and is even more important when treatment possibilities are restricted, as in many parts of Africa (Constantinou, 2010). ….documenting injury epidemiology and conducting injury surveillance studies is fundamental and first step in the sequence of prevention on sports injuries. We hope to have a Nigerian Model for Sports Injury Prevention in the nearest future. -Dr OBA Owoeye

1. EPIDEMIOLOGY OF SPORTS
INJURIES IN NIGERIA
By
Dr. Oluwatoyosi Owoeye (Ph.D)
Department of Physiotherapy, College of Medicine, UNILAG
Keynote Lecture at the 2014 NOH, Igbobi Annual Scientific
Conference/Workshop tagged “Sports Injuries”

2. Outline
Dr Owoeye - Sept '14
• Definition of Key Terms
• Background
• Why is the Present Topic Important?
• Injury Risk Management Model
• What Exactly are the figures?
• General Sports
• Specific Sports
• Summary
• Recommendations
• End Notes
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3. Definition of Key Terms
?
Dr Owoeye - Sept '14
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4. Epidemiology
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• The study of the determinants of disease events
(sports injuries) in populations (Mosby's
Medical Dictionary, 2009)
• Science that deals with the study of the causes,
distribution, and control of disease (sports
injuries) in populations (American Heritage
Medical Dictionary, 2004)
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Athletes!
•Recreational/Amateur
•Semi-professional
•Professional
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Injury in Sports
• Dictionary definition of sport injury…
• Other several definitions!!! For a long time …>>>
confusion and complexities in developing sports
injury prevention models
• In 2005/2006… Medical Commissions of UEFA,
FIFA and IOC published consensus statements on
definitions for sports injuries
(…..Fuller et al, 2006)
▫ MEDICAL ATTENTION…
▫ TIME-LOSS
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Other Injury Definitions
• Acute Injury vs Overuse Injury
• Recurrent Injury
• Injury Rate – Prevalence vs Incidence
• Injury Mechanism
• Injury Severity
Gold standard definitions!
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Applications….!
• Studies conducted in different parts of the world
can be justifiably compared with one another,
thus enhancing and consolidating a global
model for injury prevention
• BUT! …… sports medicine and science
researchers in developing countries must follow
the gold standard
• Nigeria is doing that… research team at UNILAG
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Why is the Present Topic Important?
• To keep participants in action!
- Prevention –
• …..personal, social benefits & economic benefits...
• #exerciseismedicine #sportsforhealth
• …high level of participation…
UNILAG Study (Owoeye et al, 2014)
 Male students 78.4%
 Female 41.2%
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10. Background
Dr Owoeye - Sept '14
• Epidemiologic research methods form the
cornerstone of public health; and same applies
to athletes’ health
• As much as injuries can be prevented in sports,
they can not be totally eliminated
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11. Injury Risk Management Model (Fuller et al, 2012) Dr Owoeye - Sept '14
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12. The Nigeria Factor!!
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• In Nigeria prevention is our cure…!
• Prevention of injuries should always be a priority
and is even more important when treatment
possibilities are restricted, as in many parts of Africa
(Constantinou, 2010).
• ….documenting injury epidemiology and conducting
injury surveillance studies is fundamental and first
step in the sequence of prevention…
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• The frequency and characteristics of sports
injuries have been shown to vary not only with
different styles of play, but also between gender,
age groups, levels of play, geographical regions
and countries
(Dvorak and Junge, 2000) – Am J Sports Med
…..justifies the need for local epid studies….
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Peculiarity in the Nigerian Cohort
…………Nigerian athletes are faced with huge challenges
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(Owoeye et al, 2013)
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16. We also need to remember…!
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Participation in a vigorous sports exposes players
not only to MS injuries but also to risk of CV
events….
- CV Health of Players
Sports Physio unit + Cardiology Unit of the Dept of
Physiotherapy & Medicine , UNILAG collaboration
… …baseline RFs
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17. What exactly are the figures???
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
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QUICK
BACKGROUND!
Looking back 5 years…
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20. …From Popular Scientific Search Engines
2009 – 2014 (5-year period)
• Pubmed
• Google Scholar
• Researchgate
Dr Owoeye - Sept '14
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General Sports…
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Owoeye et al (2009) - Int J Rheum
A Retrospective Study of Sports Injuries
Reported at the National Sports Medicine
Centre, Lagos, South-West, Nigeria
• Total of 171 sports injuries in 7 yrs 24injuries/yr
• Male to female ratio of 2:1
• Muscle strain followed by sprain
• Majority of the injuries affected the LE (mostly thigh
and Knee)
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23. Distribution of Injuries in Selected Sports Dr Owoeye - Sept '14
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24. Dr Owoeye - Sept '14
Owoeye (2010) - Sports Medicine, Arthroscopy,
Rehabilitation, Therapy & Technology
Pattern and Management of Sports Injuries
Presented by Lagos State Athletes at the 16th
National Sports Festival (KADA games 2009) in
Nigeria
• 655 athletes with age range, 15-38 years
• 20.2% injury prevalence
• male to female ratio of 2:1
• Mostly “minor” injuries
• Muscle strain (31.4%) followed by ligament sprains (22.9%).
• The LE most injured accounting for 50% of all injuries
basketball, cricket, hockey, rugby and baseball… FB?
• Popular rxs - Cryotherapy followed by bandaging
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25. Severity of Injuries
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Specific Sports
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Basketball
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Owoeye et al (2012) - Sports Medicine,
Arthroscopy, Rehabilitation, Therapy &
Technology
Incidence and pattern of injuries among
adolescent basketball players in Nigeria
• Study revealed 22.7 injuries per 100 participants;
equivalence of 1.0 injury per match
• Injuries mostly affected the LEs and the pattern of
injuries was similar in both genders
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29. Body Parts Injured Dr Owoeye - Sept '14
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30. Owoeye et al (2013) – OA Sports Dr Owoeye - Sept '14
Medicine
Musculoskeletal injuries among professional
players of the Nigeria female basketball league: A
need for intervention
• Age range - 18.2 ± 2.66 years
• A total of 108 injuries were sustained by 58 players
• I-year injury prevalence of 55.8% (all) and 33.3%(TL).
• Match vs training injuries (P = 0.330)
• Sprains and strains mostly diagnosed
• LE injuries predominated
• Point guards sustained more injuries than players in
other positions
- one out of three players suffered a time-loss injury during a
league season
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31. Injury Distribution by Body Location Dr Owoeye - Sept '14
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Marathon Athletes
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Ogwumike and Adeniyi (2013) - BMC Sports
Science, Medicine, and Rehabilitation
The SPLASH/ICPC integrity marathon in
Ibadan, Nigeria: incidence and management of
injuries and marathon-related health problems
• Injury prevalence was 16.3% and 17.2% in the maiden
and 2nd editions of the said race
• Muscle cramps and heat exhaustion were mostly
recorded
• Thigh muscle mostly injured
• Cryotherapy was mostly used and by PTs
…Most of the injuries and other health problems
were reported by first-time marathon runners
mainly at the finish line
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Boxers
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Oke et al (2012) - Global Advanced
Research J of Med and Med Sci
Nature and Incidences of musculoskeletal
injuries in Nigeria male amateur boxing
engagements
• Age range: 21 – 27years
• 3.9 injuries per athlete …injuries per match ??
• Upper extremities were mostly injured
• Sprains, strains and lacerations were mostly reported
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36. Injuries by Type and Body Location Dr Owoeye - Sept '14
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Karate
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Owoeye et al (2012) - Unpublished
Injury Profile in Nigerian Karate Athletes
• A prospective survey
• In a total of 300 bouts, 83 injuries were reported by
64 athletes from a cohort of 270 athletes during a
national competition…. 1/4
0.3 injury/bout (0.37 male > 0.16 female)
• Head mostly injured; primarily contusions followed
by laceration
• Though injuries were mostly mild, 1 of 6 injuries
was severe
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Volleyball
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Owoeye et al (2014) – In view
Injuries in Volleyball Players: Assessment
of Nigerian Players at the 20th NSF
Overall prevalence 7.6%
0.54 injury per match 1, male; 0.1, female
LE mostly affected ankle and knee sprains
Injuries mostly medical attention and mild
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Football
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Owoeye et al (2014) – Br J Sports Med
Lower Extremity Injuries among Nigerian
Male Youth Football Players
• A total of 227 players sustained 307 time-loss LE
injuries (range, 1–6 injuries) with an overall 1-
year prevalence rate of 32.5%; equivalent to 1.4
injuries/player per year
• Ankle then knee mostly injured
• Match > Training injuries (P<0.001)
• About 1 of 2 injuries (48.5%) moderate severity
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Akodu et al (2012) - Afri J of Med & Med Sci
Incidence and Characteristics of Injuries
during the 2011 West Africa Football Union
(WAFU) Nations’ Cup
• 89 injuries/1000 player hours (match) =
9.9 injuries per match
• Injury characteristics similar to previous studies
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Owoeye et al (2014) - J Sports Sci & Med
Efficacy of the FIFA 11+ Warm-up Programme in
Male Youth Football: A Cluster Randomised
Controlled Trial
Extract
• 0.4 injuries/training & 20.3 injuries/match
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Recreational Athletes
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46. Owoeye et al (2014) – In View
Sports Participation, Injuries and Risk
Factors among UNILAG Students
• Males 58.3% *TL
• Females 30.3%
• Sprain…
• Knee, ankle, lower leg…
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Conclusion
• Epidemiology of sports injuries for prevention is a
continuum
• This review provides information that is imperative
for prompt intervention by stakeholders and the
government for all athletes...
• Prevention of sports injuries is the most viable option
in Nigeria
• Football, basketball and track/field events pose the
highest injury risk
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• Injuries mostly range from minimal/mild injuries to
moderate injuries
• Injury trend appears to be in congruence with the nature
of the different sports however, LE injuries are the most
common; majorly characterised by sprains and strains
and mostly affecting the knee, ankle and thigh
• The prevalence/incidence of injuries is much higher
compared to reports from Europe and other parts of the
world; however, the characteristics of injuries are similar
• Sports injuries are equally highly prevalent among
recreational athletes
• There is need for more prospective studies… and a need
for systematic implementation…
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49. Recommendations
Dr Owoeye - Sept '14
• Government and stakeholders should fund research
relating to prevention of injuries and protection of
health in Nigerian athletes to establish a Nigerian
Model
• Provision of qualified medical professionals…during
competitions… national/states/LGs
• There is a need for a functional and vibrant Sports
Science, Medicine & Rehab Conglomerate in Nigeria
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50. End Note
Not everything that counts can be counted,
and not everything that can be counted
counts
▫ Albert Einstein
That which has been counted should be
made to count
▫ Oluwatoyosi Owoeye
Dr Owoeye - Sept '14
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51. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!
@owoeyeoba
obowoeye@unilag.edu.ng
07032602437
Dr Owoeye - Sept '14
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52. References
Dr Owoeye - Sept '14
Available on request…
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