Injury prevention and rehabilitation gaps in low-resource football Evidence from Ethiopian Premier League clubs
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Abstract
Examining the injury prevention and rehabilitation strategies employed by Ethiopian men's Premier League football clubs is the aim of this particular article. Since the Premier League was established in 1993, football has been quite popular in Ethiopia. However, because of their dread of injury, Ethiopian football players' longevity and playing ability remain a worry. The application of injury prevention methods in Ethiopian football teams with restricted resources is hampered by organizational constraints, the lack of qualified human resources, and poor infrastructure, despite conclusive evidence from all across the world regarding the efficacy of such methods. This specific study made use of a descriptive cross-sectional study design. The participants in this study included 140 respondents, athletes, coaches, and physiotherapists. The results indicate a high incidence of ankle sprains, knee injuries (particularly ACL injuries), hamstring strains, and groin injuries. Since there is very little participation in organized activities like FIFA 11+, and injury management and tracking systems, injury prevention strategies are not organized and are unstructured. Most rehabilitation practices are very simple and are based on manual therapy and physical therapy, and there is very little access to modern rehabilitation techniques. Lack of resources, lack of awareness, cultural, and other factors are some of the major challenges faced in the present scenario. To overcome these shortcomings, it is recommended that injury care procedures, capacity building, resource allocation, injury prevention strategies and regular training be integrated, and injury monitoring systems be adopted. With the implementation of these strategies, Ethiopian football is expected to develop in a sustainable manner, and injury and safety risks for the players can be reduced.
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