Caring for stroke survivors put social, emotional, health and financial burdens and strains on the informal caregivers. These burdens and strains increase with duration of stroke, intimacy, smaller number of caregivers and length of daily caregiving. Therefore, informal caregivers should be involved in the rehabilitation plan for stroke patients and their well-being should also be given adequate attention.

Background Football (soccer) is the leading sport for participation among Nigerian youths. Studies on youth football injuries and their risk factors in Nigeria are lacking. Objective To assess the risk and pattern of lower extremity (LE) injuries in Nigerian male youth football players. Design A retrospective cohort study. Setting Sub-elite youth football. Participants The study involved 706 players (aged 17.67±1.11 years [14-19 years]) from 36 teams in the Premier League and League I of a Nigerian youth football league. Interventions: A structured questionnaire based on the FIFA Medical and Research Centre consensus for studies relating to football injuries was administered to players at a pre-season screening programme. Main Outcome Measurements: Information collected from the players included occurrence of time-loss LE injuries in the past 1 year, injury type, location, severity and exposure type. Furthermore, descriptive data on potential risk factors such as age, level and position of play, leg dominance and total number of matches played were documented. Results A total of 227 players sustained 307 time-loss LE injuries (range, 1-6 injuries) with an overall 1-year prevalence rate of 32.5%; equivalent to 1.4 injuries per player per year. There was no significant difference in injury prevalence between the Premier League and Division I players (P=.659). Injuries sustained were mostly located on the ankle (45.6%) and the knee joints (27.8%). Moderate injuries (48.5%) were mostly reported and more injuries were sustained during matches than training (P<.001). Exposure to high frequency of matches (>50 matches per year) (OR=2.49, P=.002) was significantly associated with injury occurrence. Conclusions There is a high risk of moderate and severe LE injuries among Nigerian male youth footballers, however, pattern of injuries are mostly consistent with literatures on football injuries. This study suggests the need for injury prevention and rehabilitation interventions for players.

Background:Psychological stress associated with cerebral palsy (CP) is known to be one of the most depressing conditions of families. In the traditional African society, some peculiar factors may contribute to the stress.Aims:The aims of this study were to identify and describe, from the African perspective, the psychological impact of CP on families and determine the strategies adopted by families in coping with it.Settings and Design:The study was a cross-sectional descriptive survey conducted in the Physiotherapy Department of a tertiary hospital.Materials and Methods:Participants were 52 parents of children with CP. They completed a questionnaire designed to determine the degree of psychological stress on the families and strategies adopted to cope with the stress.Statistical Analysis:Descriptive statistics were used to show responses in graphical formats.Results:Respondents agreed that having adequate knowledge of CP would help them cope well with the demands of taking care of children with CP. 38.5% of respondents said that people in the society accused them of some wrongdoing that has made their children to have CP. Personal problems experienced include loss of job, lack of concentration at work, loss of family joy, and derangement of financial affairs of the family. 26 (50%) of them resort to religious/spiritual intervention as an alternative or complementary mode of treatment for their children while 28% resort to dependence on the extended family system for support.Conclusion:Families caring for children with CP generally have a positive attitude towards their children. However, there is need to educate the public on the causes of CP and treatment options available to families.

BackgroundPhysiotherapists as primary health care practitioners are well placed in promoting physically active lifestyles, but their role and practice towards its promotion among patients in Nigeria has not been fully investigated. This study was therefore aimed at determining the knowledge, attitude and practice of Nigerian physiotherapists towards promotion of non-treatment physical activity among patients.MethodsThree hundred and eight practicing physiotherapists from various public and private hospitals in 14 states of Nigeria completed an adopted 20-item questionnaire, which collected information on physical activity promotion in physiotherapy practice.ResultRespondents with good knowledge and attitude towards physical activity promotion in patient management were 196(63.6%) and 292(94.8%) respectively. Only 111 (36%) of the respondents counselled more than 10 patients in the past one month on the benefits of adopting a more physically active lifestyle. Chi-square analysis showed a significant association between low practice of physical activity promotion in patient management with inadequate consultation time (ℵ2 = 3.36, p = 0.043), years of working experience of physiotherapists (ℵ2 = 11.37, p =0.023) and relative physical activity levels of physiotherapists (ℵ2 = 11.82, p = 0.037). The need for Physical activity recommendation guideline was supported by 287 (97%) respondents.ConclusionNigerian physiotherapists have good knowledge and attitude towards promotion of physically active lifestyle in their patients but do not counsel many of them, due to insufficient consultation time. Integrating brief counselling into usual treatment sessions is perceived as the most feasible form of physical activity promotion in patient management.

Background. Exposure to competitive football is increasing among male youth football players in Nigeria. However, medical support to abate the impact of injuries appears inadequate and there is limited literature to show whether youth football players are knowledgeable about, and practise effective measures for injury prevention in football (IPF). Objective. To assess the knowledge and behaviour of male youth football players regarding IPF and the availability of medical care for players. Methods. We conducted a cross-sectional study among all registered first-division players of a male youth football league in Lagos, Nigeria. Using a self-administered questionnaire, we assessed players' knowledge regarding IPF, awareness of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) 11+ injury-prevention programme, injury-prevention behaviour and availability of medical attendants during training and competitive matches. Results. The mean age of the players was 18.5 years (standard deviation (SD) ±1.7; range 12 -19). Their overall mean knowledge score regarding IPF was 4.40 (SD ±1.92) from a total score of 9, with the majority falling into the poor (39.1%) and fair (43.9%) knowledge categories. Most (79.3%) players were not aware of the FIFA 11+ programme. Less than half (40.5%) wore shin guards during training sessions, while 52.5% reported wearing shin guards during matches. Less than two-thirds always warmed up or cooled down at training or matches. About three-quarters (73.1%) and over half (52.1%) reported not having medical attendants working with their teams during matches and training, respectively. Conclusion. There is a clear deficiency in the knowledge and behaviour of injury-prevention measures among Nigerian male youth football players, and adequate medical care is lacking. There is a need for injury-prevention advocacy and implementation of effective interventions to bridge the identified deficiencies in youth football in Nigeria.S Afr J SM 2013;25(3):77-80.