Qualitative study on injury prevention and management in Senegal highlights coach's central role in low-resource settings (blogs.bmj.com)

• Injury prevention in Senegal's elite sport is informal, reactive, and relies on individual initiative.
• Coaches serve as primary caregivers for first aid, return-to-play, and emotional support.
• Cultural norms normalise pain and favour traditional medicine over conventional care.
• Mental health is rarely addressed due to stigma and lack of access.
• Study recommends context-specific, low-resource adapted prevention strategies and coach training.

"A BJSM blog post summarises a qualitative study on injury prevention and management in elite sport in Senegal. Sixteen stakeholders (athletes, coaches, health professionals) were interviewed. Findings reveal informal, reactive prevention; coaches often take on medical roles (first aid, return-to-play decisions); pain is normalised and traditional medicine is common; mental health is stigmatised. The authors call for context-specific strategies and coach education to improve athlete health."