Transcending return-to-sport for injured handball players in Masvingo tertiary institutes, Zimbabwe

Abstract

Chimonero Prince

The smooth transition of injured players from rehabilitation back to active participation has become a worrisome phenomenological service gap for sports medicine professionals. Pre-mature ending of players’ sports routes and aspirations have been reported. This study sought to examine confounding intransigencies that often entrap players’ smooth transition from rehabilitation to return-to-sport contexts in Zimbabwean Tertiary Handball between 2018 and 2021. High pandemic injury rates among handball players prompted the researcher to conduct this post-injury study. Furthermore, it sought to ascertain the extent to which the ‘sport net’ of health service providers impacted on players’ rehabilitation and return-to-sport phases. The study was a descriptive, prospective cohort design anchored on quantitative approach. The population was 453 from which 228 were drawn. Study participants were coaches, fitness trainers, team physiotherapists, team psychologists and players from 10 selected male and female ZITCOSA handball teams. Stratified random sampling was adopted in selecting respondents for the study. Questionnaires were used as data collection tools. Stratified random sampling was used to select study participants. A convenient size for the study was determined through Taro Yamani’s (1970) formula. Bowley’s proportional allocation formula was then used to statistically allocate participants into their particular strata. Data analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistical Version 23 and presented on multi-part graphs. Emerging findings from the study revealed significant service-gaps between rehabilitation and return-to-sport transitional episodes among health service professionals. Subsequently, players’ pre-defined rehabilitation routes pre-maturely ended. Sports clinicians therefore, require further sports medicine clinical development workshops to boost their skill resource bases to effectively trim down problems associated with players’ rehabilitation-return-to-sport transitional phases.

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