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Research Article
Prevalence of the Attributes of the Female Athlete Triad in Competitive Nigerian Female Athletes
Jane Sharon Akinyemi*
,
Grace Olapeju Otinwa
Issue:
Volume 13, Issue 4, December 2025
Pages:
85-94
Received:
20 September 2025
Accepted:
9 October 2025
Published:
30 October 2025
DOI:
10.11648/j.ajss.20251304.11
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Abstract: The Female Athlete Triad syndrome describes three interrelated conditions: low energy availability with or without disordered eating, menstrual dysfunction, and poor bone health, inclusive of low bone density and bone stress injury. Sports participation for female athletes has risen exponentially; however, investigations into the health and wellbeing of female athletes from Africa are extremely limited because these groups are noticeably absent from the Triad literature. This research gap can have negative health implications, on the Female Athletes in Nigerian athletes. Purpose: To investigate the prevalence of Triad components in competitive Nigerian female university athletes as well as explore hematological markers. Methods: n=71, (21.8±0.3yrs) and BMI (22.5±0.6 kg/m2) female athletes from the University of Lagos, during the Nigeria University Games Competition, completed a Health, Exercise Nutritional Survey questionnaire to provide demographics, medical history, exercise, and dietary practices. Athletes consented to a complete blood count (CBC) assessment: white blood cell (WBC), hematocrit (HCT), red blood cell (RBC), hemoglobin (HGB) and platelets. Results: Exercise frequency was 4.6±0.3 days/wk., overtraining, 6.8%, age at menarche 12.8±0.1 yrs., and gynecological age 9.2 ±0.5 yrs. Factors reflecting energetic status include (20/71): 28% reported eating a low-fat diet, (27/71) 38% dieted to lose weight to change their body composition and to improve performance, (2/71) 3% reported a history of anorexia and Bulimia. Prevalence of oligomenorrhea was (11/71) 15% while amenorrhea was (14/71) 19%. Stress fracture was reported to be (9/71) 13% and (3/71) 4%, had a family history of osteoporosis. (24/71) 34% refrained from training due to injuries during the past year and (7/71) 9.8% reported illness due to exercise. CBC measures showed RBC (3.95±0.06 1012/L), HGB (10.64±0.11 g/dL), HCT (32.68±0.31%) WBC (5.20±0.14 109/L) and platelets (245.17±8.2 *109/L), demonstrating that RBC and WBC are within the normal range while HGB, HCT and platelets are abnormal. Athletes in endurance sports had a decreased hematocrit (HCT). Conclusion: A significant percentage of Nigerian female athletes participating in the NUGA Games demonstrated factors reflective of poor energy intake, menstrual dysfunction and bone health including a history of stress fractures and absence from sport due to injury. The prevalence of factors observed suggests the need to advance screening tools and education efforts to include randomized clinical trials, optimize health of athletes and provide information for future investigation into the Triad among Nigerian athletes.
Abstract: The Female Athlete Triad syndrome describes three interrelated conditions: low energy availability with or without disordered eating, menstrual dysfunction, and poor bone health, inclusive of low bone density and bone stress injury. Sports participation for female athletes has risen exponentially; however, investigations into the health and wellbei...
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Research Article
Diabetes Mellitus Diagnosis Differences Between Students With Long and Short Sport Hours: An Independent-samples t-Test Report
Xiuxian Liu,
Xilong Liu*
Issue:
Volume 13, Issue 4, December 2025
Pages:
95-99
Received:
24 October 2025
Accepted:
14 November 2025
Published:
4 December 2025
Abstract: Background: The global prevalence of diabetes mellitus has raised significant public health concerns, with preventive strategies focusing on modifiable risk factors such as physical activity. As a physiotherapy student with cross-cultural educational experience in both Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Western exercise physiology, I developed a particular research interest in exploring the relationship between exercise duration and diabetes indicators. This interest was further motivated by personal family health concerns, as my father has been identified as a potential diabetic patient with Fasting Blood Glucose (FBG) levels fluctuating between 6.8-7.3 mmol/L. Objective: This study aimed to statistically determine whether students who engage in longer sports activities demonstrate significantly lower fasting blood glucose levels compared to those with shorter exercise durations. Methods: Employing an independent-samples t-test design, this research analyzed fasting blood glucose levels between two distinct groups: students exercising more than 5 hours per day (n=6) and those exercising less than 3 hours daily (n=8). The analysis was conducted with a significance level of α=0.05, using a one-tailed test based on theoretical expectations that longer exercise duration would correlate with improved glucose metabolism. Results: The results demonstrated a statistically significant difference between groups (t(12)=5.63, p<0.05), with a large effect size (Cohen's d=3.04). Students in the high-exercise group showed substantially lower fasting blood glucose levels compared to their low-exercise counterparts. Conclusion: The findings provide compelling evidence supporting the beneficial role of regular prolonged exercise in maintaining healthy glucose metabolism. This research contributes to the growing body of literature on exercise as a non-pharmacological intervention for diabetes prevention and management, while also establishing a foundation for future doctoral research in exercise physiology and metabolic disorders.
Abstract: Background: The global prevalence of diabetes mellitus has raised significant public health concerns, with preventive strategies focusing on modifiable risk factors such as physical activity. As a physiotherapy student with cross-cultural educational experience in both Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Western exercise physiology, I developed ...
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Research Article
The Effects of Technical Training on Basketball Speed Dribbling Skill and Stationery Two-point Shot Skill of Male University Sport Science Department Students
Assaye Gashaw*,
Ajanaw Addis,
Lamesigin Firew
Issue:
Volume 13, Issue 4, December 2025
Pages:
100-107
Received:
24 October 2025
Accepted:
4 November 2025
Published:
11 December 2025
DOI:
10.11648/j.ajss.20251304.13
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Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of technical training on basketball speed dribbling skill and stationery two- point shot in Madda Walabu University male third-year sport science students. Twenty-eight (28) male sport science students were selected by the census sampling method. For this study, a quantitative research method was used. Because this method involves measurable quantities, this would give you a set of numerical data. A pretest-and-posttest randomized experimental design was employed. The experimental group underwent a basketball technical training program for eight weeks but the control group did not receive basketball technical training interventions. The level of significant was set at p<0.05. Statistically significant difference have been detected between the pre-test and post-test values on experimental group in speed dribbling (p=0.01) and stationary two-point shooting skills (p= .000) registered statistically significant difference. The results of the study showed that providing systematic and gradual increment of both duration and intensity of basketball technical training with in eight-weeks intervention, statistically significant improvements and changes were observed in the students speed dribbling and stationary two-point shooting skills. The researcher concluded that regular participation in basketball technical training had a significant effect on the improvement and enhancement of basketball speed dribbling and stationary two-point shooting skill performances. Further study shall be done by increasing basic basketball skills through increasing subjects and taking a maximum period of training duration (increasing subjects and adding basic basketball skills require a long period of time with a well-programmed training schedule).
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of technical training on basketball speed dribbling skill and stationery two- point shot in Madda Walabu University male third-year sport science students. Twenty-eight (28) male sport science students were selected by the census sampling method. For this study, a quantitative research method ...
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Review Article
Use of Small-Sided Game Formats to Develop Cognitive Decision-Making Speed in Footballers
Batsula Andriy*
Issue:
Volume 13, Issue 4, December 2025
Pages:
108-115
Received:
23 October 2025
Accepted:
8 November 2025
Published:
17 December 2025
DOI:
10.11648/j.ajss.20251304.14
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Abstract: This review synthesizes recent evidence on how specific design choices in small-sided games (SSGs) in football influence decision-making speed. The objective is to map concrete manipulation levers—tactical formation, pitch geometry, player number and area per player, target distribution, and rule design, as well as cognitive or motor dual-task overlays—to mechanisms that shorten perception-action cycles and reduce option-selection latency, and to summarize outcomes across playing levels and roles. Methods comprise comparative analysis, narrative synthesis, and evidence mapping of studies published between 2023 and 2025 that report quantitative markers related to rapid choice behavior (e.g., one-touch actions, latency proxies, scanning frequency) and training loads. The literature indicates that formation and pitch geometry delimit scanning breadth and the emergence of first-option passing windows; target distribution and rule constraints steer information search; player number and area per player tune interaction density; and dual-task overlays expose attentional bottlenecks relevant for staged perturbation. Youth cohorts show greater tactical degradation under motor interference than under cognitive overlays, suggesting conservative progression when execution stability is developing. Reports on elite female groups associate multi-goal layouts with higher head-up scanning and improved decision-making indices, alongside increased exertional costs. Positional analyses imply distinct sensitivity profiles among defenders, midfielders, and forwards. On this basis, a practical sequencing emerges: begin by widening affordances to cultivate earlier cue pick-up, then compress time and space to consolidate rapid commitment while monitoring proxies of decision speed to avoid accuracy loss. The review consolidates transferable guidance for academies and professional environments seeking to program decision-speed adaptations through purposeful SSG architecture.
Abstract: This review synthesizes recent evidence on how specific design choices in small-sided games (SSGs) in football influence decision-making speed. The objective is to map concrete manipulation levers—tactical formation, pitch geometry, player number and area per player, target distribution, and rule design, as well as cognitive or motor dual-task over...
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Review Article
Innovative Perspectives on Anti-doping Procedures in Competitive Sports in Cameroon
Dobgima John Fonmboh,
Estella Tembe Fokunang,
Bayaga Herve,
Bissou Mahop,
Mbang Bian William,
Michel Disake Mbarga,
Robert Ndjana,
Jeane Ngogang,
Roger Zintchem,
Charles Esimone,
Charles Ntungwen Fokunang*
Issue:
Volume 13, Issue 4, December 2025
Pages:
116-133
Received:
11 May 2025
Accepted:
22 May 2025
Published:
19 December 2025
DOI:
10.11648/j.ajss.20251304.15
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Abstract: World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) monitors each sport globally to certify that sport practice cleared of drug abuse. The abuse of drugs or application of expert procedures banned by WADA to insincerely and/or unnaturally enhance the efficiency of sports-person is called DOPING. Doping, is thus not a new practice in the sports world and involves the consumption, possession or an attempt to consume substances of abuse in elite sports. The increasing interest of doping in sports is important for all those involved in sports, especially for the evaluation of anti-doping policy measures. Most countries in sub-Saharan Africa like Cameroon need to fill the information gap that addresses doping since the analytical process is still to be understood and implemented in most sports nations despite the importance of doping sports. Due to the increasing reporting of many high-profile doping scandals in competitive sport on the one hand and the continuous search to break records and establish new ones, the global fight for fair and clean sport is now more relevant and important than ever. Not only there is need to restore integrity within sport, it is also necessary to roll back the restoration and the integrity of doping control too. Specific anti-doping bodies first officially emerged in 1961 with the creation of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Medical Commission, believed to have been instigated following the death of Danish cyclist, Knut Jensen, during the 1960 Olympics in Rome, who became the first athlete with a doping related death in Olympic history. The anti-doping fight gained momentum and increased support throughout the 1990s, resulting in the establishment of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in 1999. However, unfortunately it is still not possible to guarantee the sincerity and reliability of all anti-doping practices. It is therefore imperative to create a platform for interdisciplinary/ transdisciplinary and/ or multidisciplinary collaboration with leading academic and technical institutions and sports bodies to hunt for disruptive findings that challenge scientific boundaries to innovate doping controls and incite intellectual curiosity to be institutionalized. This paper attempts to explore an overview of the process of doping substance analysis to educate the sports community in Cameroon.
Abstract: World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) monitors each sport globally to certify that sport practice cleared of drug abuse. The abuse of drugs or application of expert procedures banned by WADA to insincerely and/or unnaturally enhance the efficiency of sports-person is called DOPING. Doping, is thus not a new practice in the sports world and involves the c...
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Research Article
The Influence of Sports Related Injuries on Football Player Performance in Gore Football Club
Girma Bikila Banti,
Alemi Madaksa Deressa*
Issue:
Volume 13, Issue 4, December 2025
Pages:
134-139
Received:
17 October 2025
Accepted:
27 October 2025
Published:
19 December 2025
DOI:
10.11648/j.ajss.20251304.16
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Abstract: Background: Sports related injuries are a significant concern in football, affecting players’ performance, career longevity, and wellbeing. At Gore Football Club, the prevalence causes, and consequences of injuries, as well as rehabilitation practices and psychosocial support mechanisms, remain underexplored. Objective: This study aimed to (1) Identify the most common types of sports-related injuries among players at Gore Football Club and their primary causes; (2) examine how injuries impact physical, technical, tactical, and psychological aspects of performance; (3) evaluate the rehabilitation and injury management practices in place and their effectiveness; and (4) explore the role of psychological and social support systems in the recovery and return-to-performance process. Methods: A mixed-methods approach was used. Quantitative data were collected from 25 players via structured questionnaires and performance metrics (pre and post injury). Descriptive statistics summarized injury types, causes, and perceived impacts. Inferential statistics (Fisher’s Exact Test, paired?t tests) examined associations and differences. Qualitative data from interviews with injured players, coaches, and support staff were analyzed using thematic analysis to identify key themes in rehabilitation experiences and psychosocial support. Results: The most frequently reported injuries were ankle sprains (40%) and hamstring strains (28%), with overtraining, inadequate warm up, and poor pitch conditions emerging as primary causes. Fisher’s Exact Test showed a significant association between ankle sprain and reporting overtraining (p ≈ 0.02). Paired comparisons of sprint performance indicated a statistically significant decline post-injury (mean increase in sprint time = 0.30 s; t (24) = 5.20, p < 0.001, Cohen’s d = 1.04). Among rehabilitation methods, physiotherapy was most used (80%) and significantly associated with higher perceived effectiveness (p ≈ 0.03). Although psychological support was available for 60% of players, only 48% utilized it; utilization did not show a statistically significant link to perceived rehabilitation success, but qualitative insights highlighted its value in motivation, confidence, and mental recovery. Strong social support from teammates and coaches was commonly reported. Conclusion: At Gore Football Club, lower-limb injuries especially ankle sprains and hamstring strains prevail, often associated with overtraining and preparation deficits. These injuries produce measurable performance losses, which can be mitigated through structured rehabilitation, particularly physiotherapy. Psychosocial and social support plays a supplementary but meaningful role in recovery, though utilization is suboptimal. The findings underscore the need for integrated injury prevention strategies, structured return-to-play protocols, and strengthened psychological support frameworks in the club. Future research using larger, longitudinal samples and objective performance measures is recommended.
Abstract: Background: Sports related injuries are a significant concern in football, affecting players’ performance, career longevity, and wellbeing. At Gore Football Club, the prevalence causes, and consequences of injuries, as well as rehabilitation practices and psychosocial support mechanisms, remain underexplored. Objective: This study aimed to (1) Iden...
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