PERCEPTION OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENT (AI) IN PREDICTING AND PREVENTING SPORT INJURIES THROUGH MOVEMENT ANALYSIS
Abstract
The study examined how artificial intelligence (AI) and movement analysis can be used to predict and prevent the occurrence of sports injuries among Nigeria university athletes. The research questions to be examined were, in particular, to establish the rates of sports injuries, to find out whether wearable devices and data analysis tools can significantly predict the injury prevention outcomes. The type of research design was descriptive. The sample population comprised of university athletes selected in selected tertiary institutions in Oyo, Osun and Lagos State in Nigeria. Multistage sampling process was applied to choose the participants. A sample of 423 athletes was used in 9 universities with the balance of 47 athletes per university. The structured questionnaire to be used to collect data was developed based on a five-point Likert scale, whereby, it measured the experience of athletes in terms of injury, preventive behaviours, and their perception of AI-based monitoring systems. The process of data collection was based on direct administration of questionnaires to the athletes in training sessions and sporting activities. Descriptive statistics, chi-square, one-sample t-test and regression analyses were used to analyse the data. The findings revealed that male athletes were the largest respondents with 61 percent whereas females were 39 percent. Majority of the athletes fell within the age range of 21-25 year old (46.3) and 42.1% sporting experience (3-4 years). The biggest participation rate was in football (25.3%). The results also indicated that conventional injury prevention measures had very important impacts on the occurrence of injuries. The authors came to the conclusion that, although the classic methods of prevention of injuries remain significant, the combination of artificial intelligence, wearables and movement analysis systems presents a more proactive and data-driven method of preventing sports injuries.
