Nature and Incidences of musculoskeletal injuries in Nigeria male amateur boxing engagements

Kayode I. Oke¹*, Elias O. Agwubike², Oladipo AC Odunuga³

¹Department of Physiotherapy, University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City. Nigeria.

²Department of Health, Environmental Education and Human Kinetics, University of Benin, Benin City. Nigeria.

³Department of Physiotherapy, Sports Medicine Centre, National Sports Commission, Abuja. Nigeria.

*Corresponding author E-mail: Kayodeoke2001@yahoo.com; Phone: +234 8035027408

Accepted 27 July, 2012

Abstract

Boxing is a combat sport in which two men or women fight each other using punching strikes for competition and it is often associated with injuries. Bulk of the studies on injury incidence and prevalence in amateur and professional boxing have concentrated on head and brain injuries with attendant insufficient knowledge on the musculoskeletal injury incidences affecting the other regions of the body.  Clear understanding of the incidence and nature of musculoskeletal injuries among amateur boxers will assist in providing preventive measures that can result in enhanced performance of this group of athletes. This study therefore aims at evaluating the nature and incidences of musculoskeletal injuries associated with amateur boxing among Nigerian athletes. Twenty nine (29) male amateur boxers who were in training camps preparatory to the 7^th Commonwealth and 10th All African Games (between 2010 and 2011) and competed in an international boxing competition within the period formed the subjects for this study. The camp period lasted for sixteen (16) weeks altogether during which the athletes trained daily, sparred and competed. Data concerning each individual athlete and the injuries sustained within the period were recorded by the team physical therapist. Subjects’ ages ranged between 21 and 27years (mean= 22.50 ± 2.72 years), weight ranged between 50 and 99.35kg (mean= 71.43± 13.42kg) and height ranged between 1.62 and 1.88m (mean= 1.75 ± 0.08m). They are all right hand dominant participants whose competition weight categories ranged between light fly (49Kg) and heavy weight (91Kg) categories. The study design is a prospective cohort. Descriptive statistics of mean and percentages were used in establishing the percentage of injuries, incidences, types, patterns and body regions affected. A total of one hundred and thirteen (113) injuries were recorded within the period of the study. There was a 3.9 injury incidence rate per athlete, the upper limb (specifically the hands) was commonest site of musculoskeletal injuries (~54%) while the back (spine) was the least affected part of the body (4.42%). The most prevalent types of injuries were sprains, strains and contusions (59%), while dislocation (0.8%) and nasal cartilageneous fracture (1.8%) were least prevalent. Recurrent injuries/ acute on chronic injuries (69%) were more than chronic (31%) injuries. The average number of training days the injured athletes missed due to injuries was 2. The findings of this study suggest that amateur boxing is an injury prone sports, though with low incidence rate. Most injuries were acute on chronic that were recurrent in nature and affected the joints structures integrity. The patterns are typical of the sport affecting the hand and face more commonly. Although the injuries were traumatic, they were predominantly mild to moderate and usually not serious injuries. Their managements were effected immediately and spontaneously care to prevent complications and deformities.

Keywords: Amateur boxing, Injuries nature, incidence, male.