Incidence of hockey ankle injuries in Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa

Abstract

The study investigated the incidence and mechanism of ankle injuries amongst male adolescent hockey players in the Kwa-Zulu Natal. A descriptive survey was conducted amongst 53 male hockey players aged 16-18 years old, who by informed voluntary consent participated in the study. Data were collected by the use of a validated questionnaire adapted from van Heerden (1996). Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Science for Windows and chi-square tests with the probability set at 0.05. The evidence indicated that the prevalence of
ankle injuries amongst hockey players was 26.41%. The most frequent ankle injury sustained by male adolescent hockey players was an inversion ankle sprain (84.62% of the 26.41% injured subjects of the sample cohort). The mechanisms of ankle injuries were attributed to rapid rotational movements of the ankle joint when changing direction (64.4%) and collision with other players (35.6%). Additional pre-disposing factors of ankle injuries were increased frequency of hockey played, lack of supplementary resistance training and the position of hockey players.
The study concluded that inversion ankle sprains are the most common ankle injury experienced by male adolescent hockey players aged 16-18 years old in Kwa-Zulu Natal.