KAMPALA – Uganda’s first ever medical workshop for active sportsmen started with a promise to set up a health therapy centre.
UOC Medical Commission head Dr. Samuel Guma listens to participants at the workshop. (Photo credit: Johnson Were)
UOC president William Blick said the centre would be established at the committee’s Lugogo headquarters.
“We shall for starters start a medical helpline that sportsmen can call for medical answers,” explained Blick at the start of the two-day course.
Benefits will include technical information with sportsmen getting brochures, flyers besides accessing UOC’s e-library.
The course attracted 40 participants from the 20 disciplines affiliated to UOC. UOC Medical Commission head Dr. Samuel Guma will ensure that technical personal are present at the Lugogo offices at least once a week.
Presenters at the workshop at Holiday Express Hotel included doctors Joseph Kalanzi, Ronald Kaddu and Guma.
Other presenters included Michael Aleku, Isma Iga and Christpher Oluk.
Participants were informed about the medical code and protection of athletes’ rights and other Olympic principles.
Topics covered included basic life support, travel medicine, training recovery, anti-doping, food and food supplements.
Other topics were importance of periodic health examination, the role of physiotherapy in injury management and prevention of injuries.
The workshop follows a course for officials who included doctors and physiotherapists last year.
“In future such courses will be taken to specific disciplines to increase on numbers,” promised Blick.
By James Bakama, The New Vision