By Erick Ochieng’ http://www.standardmedia.co.ke
Basketball is one sport that has not reported death cases compared to football, athletics and rugby locally.
Kenya Basketball Federations (KBF) officials say the game is safe.
What is, however, rampant though are injuries sustained by players during matches and practice sessions.
Basketball injuries are divided into two categories namely overuse and traumatic. Overuse injuries are those caused by stressing an area over and over again until it is damaged and begins to hurt.
They include patellar tendonitis, or "jumper’s knee," which is characterised by pain in the tendon just below the kneecap.
Others include Achilles tendinitis, which is an injury of the tendon connecting the muscles in the back of the calf to the heel bone that causes pain in the back of the leg just above the heel.
Traumatic injuries are those caused by sudden forceful injury like jammed fingers and ankle sprain.
On preparedness during matches, KBF only seek health facilities and medical personnel during international fixtures.
It is apparent it does not have a standby ambulance at Nyayo National Stadium, Nairobi, where their league matches are played.
"We strive to hire an ambulance and health officials when there is international competition.
"We hired St. Johns Ambulance at the Africa Women Basketball Clubs Championship in 2008 in Nairobi," said KBF first vice chairman Henry Shihemi.
But KBF is encouraging teams to make arrangements for their own doctors, ambulances and physiotherapists during local and international fixtures as the federation does not have enough money to hire medical personnel.
Most teams in the local league have coaches who double up as physiotherapists as it is expensive to maintain a health official.
Apart from not being able to raise enough money for players’ medical care, KBF has also not been able to perform doping tests as required.
"We have no mechanisms in place for doping. We have never done this locally as it is expensive," Shihemi said.
Doping costs Sh45,000 per player and it is an elaborate process, as Kenyan samples have to be flown to a South African laboratory for testing, which is an extra cost. Players are therefore advised to stay off drugs.
Morris Aluanga, the Fiba Africa Zone Five President, agrees it is expensive for teams and federations in the region to engage health facilities and personnel, but adds that another reason for the laxity is that basketball is relatively safe.
He says it is hard for players to cope in a game if they have taken any banned substances. "Basketball is not like football where one can afford to rest when not in possession of the ball. Players keep moving all over the court and if one has taken a drug one won’t cope with the fast pace of the game.
"They would eventually tire from exhaustion," Aluanga explains.
He advises players to seek personal health insurance when their clubs cannot offer it. Eagle Wings coach Smatts Olumbo confirmed they hired Ulinzi doctor while going for the Africa Zone Five championship in Burundi, which they won.
Ronny Owino, who coaches Posta and is also the Nairobi Basketball Association chairman, says local basketball teams do not have qualified doctors and physiotherapists.