Biomedical subjects

M Wekesa

Publications and source records attributed to M Wekesa.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1998

Injury pattern during team handball competition in east Africa.

Team handball is a fast, explosive sport, and injury risk is inevitable. There is need to define the risk factors in order to formulate preventive, treatment and rehabilitation measures. This study investigated the nature, aetiology, mechanism and anatomical localisation of injuries observed among male and female players during the tenth edition of the East and Central Africa Senior Clubs Championships (9th-17th April, 1995) in Nairobi, Kenya. There were nine male and five female teams from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Ethiopia which played nineteen and ten matches respectively leading to 52(77.61%) and 15(22.39%) injuries. The matches were observed and the injuries recorded live by trained researchers and the result confirmed after the match. The commonest injuries were contusions (64.18%). Most injuries were caused by another person (85.07%), majority of them occurring due to collision (55.22%). The head suffered most injuries (59.24%) and many players got more injured while attacking than defending. In all, 56.7% of the injuries were observed in the second half. Generally, only 38.81% of the injuries led to a substitution of player. This pattern of injuries was the same for both male and female players. More studies of this nature are recommended in order to clearly define injury risk in team handball and, thus, preventive, treatment and rehabilitation measures.

Africa, Eastern↗

PubMed1996

Injury surveillance in a rugby tournament.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate injuries in international rugby football. METHODS: All injuries that led to temporary stoppage of the game or to the substitution of a player during the Rugby World Cup prequalifying tournament were recorded. Six matches were played, involving the Arabian Gulf, Kenya, Namibia, and Zimbabwe. RESULTS: 47 injuries were recorded, giving an injury rate of eight per match. The number of injuries decreased from 38.3% in the first matches to 23.4% in the final ones. The most serious injury was a concussion and the majority of the injuries affected soft tissues. Anatomically, the lower limbs suffered most injuries (46.8%), followed by the head (21.3%), trunk (17.0%), and upper limbs (12.8%). Slightly more injuries occurred in the defensive half of the field of play (53.2%) than in the offensive half (46.8%). More injuries occurred in the second half (61.7%) than in the first half (38.3%). CONCLUSIONS: Protective equipment should be introduced to minimise the number and seriousness of injuries in rugby.

Athletic Injuries↗

PubMed1994

A study of the pattern of injuries during the Rugby World Cup pre-qualifying tournament held in Nairobi.

Rugby, like other contact sports, is associated with injuries. We set out to investigate all injuries that led either to a temporary stoppage of the game and/or substitution of a player during the Rugby World Cup pre-qualifying tournament. A total of six matches were played involving the Arabian Gulf, Kenya, Namibia and Zimbabwe. We recorded a total of 47 injuries, giving an injury rate of eight per match. The number of injuries decreased from 38.3% in the first matches to 23.4% in the final ones. The majority of the injuries affected soft tissues, the most serious of them being a concussion. Anatomically, the lower limbs suffered the majority of injuries (46.81%) followed by the head, trunk and upper limbs with 21.29%, 17.03% and 12.78% respectively. Slightly more injuries occurred during the defensive actions (53.19%) than offensive (46.81%) ones. More injuries occurred in thee second half (61.70%) than the first (38.3%). Some of our findings are in agreement with those of earlier studies. However, further investigations are necessary to establish a clear cut pattern of injuries in this sport.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1994

The asthma six-minute provocation test and mountain climbing in children.

We investigated the intensity of exercise in the asthma six-minute provocation test (ASMT) for asthmatic patients and mountain climbing. Six asthmatic boys with mean age 11.7 +/- 2.1 years and mean weight 44.5 +/- 13.2 kg participated in this study. HR, FEV1 and RR values were recorded. In both forms of exercise, the participants achieved intensities of over 160 beats/min. EIA was diagnosed in five of them after the SSMT. There was not much variability in the PEFR values observed during mountain climbing. The rise in systolic pressure was within normal. The echocardiogram (ECG) was not pathologic. Further investigations are required to establish the suitability of mountain climbing as an appropriate form of sport for asthmatics.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1993

Sports medicine.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Athletic Injuries↗

PubMed1993

Preparation and medical care of the Kenya national hockey team at the fifth Africa Cup of Nations Championships.

A team of 25 top Kenyan male hockey players preparing for the fifth Africa Cup of Nations Championships was tested before and after seven weeks of training. At the end of the training, 16 of them were selected into the National team. The illnesses and injuries of the team members were documented using the Wekesa Protocol Sheet. The Asembo Hockey Fitness test was used to evaluate fitness. There was a significant decrease in the heart rate after training (p < 0.01). The sum of the recovery pulse decreased from 550.92 +/- 46.90 to 498.88 +/- 44.06 (p < 0.001). A significant (p < 0.01) improvement in the time taken to perform the test (before: 814.08 +/- 126.08 sec; after: 715.0 +/- 92.78 sec) was established. During training and the championship matches a total of seven illnesses occurred. There were no serious injuries, the commonest being contusions (70%), and lacerations (15%). The lower part of the body below the hips was more affected by injuries (60%) than the upper. The results of the fitness test confirm the commonly held view in sports medicine regarding morphological and functional adaptations due to training. The injuries recorded appear to be characteristic of hockey.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

PubMed1993

The effect of a three week sports training programme on the coordinative ability of asthmatic children.

We set out to evaluate the coordinative ability of asthmatic children and to find out how this component of physical fitness is affected by a training programme of a short duration. Seventeen asthmatic children participated in the study. Their ages ranged from 9.0 to 14.5 years. Their mean weight (+/- SD) was 44.89 +/- 14.94 kg and mean height (+/- SD) was 153.21 +/- 9.92 cm. Coordination was measured using the Body Coordination Test for Children (BCTC) developed by Kiphard and Schilling in 1974. The subjects participated three times a week in a sports programme. The results were analysed using the Wilcoxon test for dependent variables and regression analysis. We noted a significant improvement at the end of the training programme (p < 0.05), although there was no correlation between attendance and improvement in performance. Our results do not support the general view that asthmatics are unfit. We concluded that asthmatic children are not generally unfit, and that their coordinative ability can be improved within a relatively short time of training.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1992

Kenyan team care at the Special Olympics--1991.

The Kenyan team that competed at the International Summer Special Olympics comprised 38 athletes (both men and women) selected from all competitors at the national championships. The team was examined and a physiological fitness test carried out. The results enabled the organizers to arrange for treatment of prevailing illnesses, and the training programme was adjusted to the athletes' level. This team was voted the best team of the month of July, having won 33 gold, three silver and two bronze medals. Sound medical care of athletes should be taken before and during competition. Such management should aim at minimizing injuries and enabling athletes to perform at their best.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1992

Exercise-induced asthma (EIA) after walking: a case report.

A case in which exercise-induced asthma (EIA) was provoked at an intensity of less than 100 beats/min is discussed. EIA was provoked by a 12-minute walk test. Earlier tests using walking on other subjects had not produced such a result. It is therefore vital to teach asthmatics to monitor their pulmonary response at regular intervals to avert serious attacks in activities of daily living.

Adolescent↗