Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice Towards Exercise- Related Injury Prevention among Gym Users at a University Sports Facility

Objectives: This study aims to measure the knowledge, attitude and practice towards preventive strategies among gym users of a university sports facility.

Methods: This is a knowledge, attitude, and practice study that was carried out on a random sample of gym users of a university sports facility. Hard copy anonymous questionnaires, covering various preventive strategies, were distributed among users of gym area at different dates and times.

Results: A total of 300 participants completed the survey. The participants had a positive attitude (3.1 ± 0.5) towards exerciserelated injury prevention strategies; yet their knowledge scores (53.1% ± 15.9) and practice scores (67.39% ± 17.32) were average. Participants were least knowledgeable about seeking medical help for injury (39.7%), the unwarranted need for warm-up/cool-down/ stretching (5.2%), and the unwarranted need of shoes to prevent injury (24.1%). Attitude and practice followed a similar pattern for these 3 themes. Age and the presence of a coach were associated with the knowledge and practice of injury prevention strategies.

Conclusion: The gym users at a university sports facility had a positive attitude towards exercise-related injury prevention; yet; they lacked a good fund of knowledge and their practices of such prevention strategies were average. Future research should be directed towards effective interventions, targeting different age groups, towards improved knowledge and practice of exerciserelated injury preventive strategies.