| dc.description.abstract | Background: Rugby is one of the most popular sports in the world second to football. Many researchers have recommended different rugby injury prevention strategies that can drastically reduce injury incidences in rugby if practiced regularly. However rugby injuries still exist and there is minimal intervention being done in Africa and specifically in Kenya to implement these injury prevention strategies. Aim: To identify factors influencing the implementation of rugby injury prevention strategies in Kenya. Objectives: (i) To determine prevalence of rugby injuries in the Kenya Rugby Football Union (KRFU) league 2011-2012 season. (ii) To identify and describe various injury prevention strategies and sports safety practices in place among rugby clubs in Kenya. (iii) To determine the factors hindering the implementation of rugby injury prevention strategies in Kenya. Design: A cross-sectional, descriptive, quantitative study design was used. Research Setting: The study was conducted in Nairobi, Kenya.
Participants: Seven male rugby teams participated in KRFU League 20lll20l2 season; 210 rugby players, 7 team coaches, 7 team managers and 7 team medical practitioners. Instruments: Four self-administered questionnaires for rugby players, team coaches, team managers and team medical practitioners were used to collect data. A two week test-retest reliability pilot study was conducted to ensure validity and reliability for team coaches and rugby players' questionnaires. Team medical practitioners and managers' instruments were adapted from previously validated Sports Safety Analysis Tool (SSAT). To ensure the content and face validity of the adapted instruments it was reviewed by experienced sports safety experts, experienced coaches, referees and sports development officers working as technical advisors in KRFU, in conjunction with qualified and experienced sports Physiotherapists, and the Researcher.
Ethical clearance: was granted by the University of the Western Cape and from the relevant authorities in Kenya. Participation was voluntary and participants had the right to withdraw from the study at any time. Written informed consent was sought from all participants and they were assured of anonymity and confidentiality of their information, and that it was intended for research purposes only.
Data analysis: Data was analysed using the SPSS version (20.0). Descriptive statistics was conducted to obtain a profile of the study sample and prevalence of rugby injuries, injury prevention strategies, sports safety practices and factors influencing the implementation of injury prevention strategies. These were presented in terms of frequencies and percentages in tables and figures
Results: 162 (77%) rugby players, 7 (100%) coaches, 7 (100%) managers and 6 (85 .7%) team medical practitioners participated in this study. A sum of 520 injuries was reported giving a prevalence rate of 94.4%. Out of these injuries the sprains accounted for 17.5%o and strains (15%) and with more than half (52.5%) were mild. Fifty-five percent (55.4%) of the injuries were sustained during matches with the majority (55.6%\ of players sustaining an injury during the second half of play. The lower extremity recorded high prevalence of 48.7%o while tackling and being tackled were the common cause of injury. Majority of rugby players never used headgear, mouth guard and ankle protection at both training and matches. There were deficiencies in conducting cool down, stretching, flexibility and strength training. Lack of time, lack of proper equipments, advice, fatigue, financial constraints, poor facilities and lack of qualified personnel were given as the main reasons for coaches and players not implementing the injury prevention strategies. Moreover safety practices were followed more during competitions than at training. Conclusion: the lower limb injuries are of great concern and training specifically targeted on injury prevention should be encouraged among coaches as it can reduce the injury incidences. Moreover a sports safety committee should be elected among rugby clubs to develop and ensure that sports safety practices and policies are implemented regularly at both training and matches. Finally the coaches and medical personnel should educate players on the importance of injury preventative measures and always encourage them to participate in warmup, cool-down, stretching and, strength and conditioning. | en_US |
