Large numbers of injuries are a well-known problem in alpine ski racing. The prevalence of ACL-injuries in World-Cup racers in average is more than five ACLinjuries per 100 athletes per year (FIS Injury Surveillance System 2006-2018). Unfortunately, the injury number of German Ski racers is the same, in case of the women junior team even higher (Kermer, 2016). Therefore, the ski federation`s goal is to decrease these numbers by examining preventive interventions, and the presented test is one of those. Raschner et al. (2012) and Kermer (2016) found relations or indicators in a low developed physical fitness, especially regarding core strength. Additionally, Kermer (2016) found better eccentric leg capacities in the injured group compared to the not-injured group. This, much to our surprise, suggests that good eccentric capacities are a predictor for ACL-injury risk, especially because eccentric power is an advantage in fast ski racing (Hydren et al., 2013). Presumably, the combination of weak core strength, leading to unbalanced situations, and the good eccentric strength capacities might enlarge the stress on the participated structures, because the athletes are able to hold the forces for a longer duration. The German Ski Federation has implemented a diagnostic concept for young athletes from under 12 years of age up to the elite WC-Racers. Differences in testing procedures exist in terms of intensity and accuracy, but the main contents are equal. The presented test was added to the protocol and applied to all athletes from the junior level. The aim was to establish a test which evaluates leg axis and core stability under time pressure in order to assess agilty: • "a rapid whole body movement with change of velovity or direction in response to a Stimulus" (Sheppard & Young, 2006). Only by detecting deficits, there is a Chance for improvement in the respective area and in order to prevent injuries it also can serve as a guideline for interventions in the rehabilitation and return-to-competition-process. In this study, the comparison of results pre- and post-injury serves as an indicator for the rehabilitation process.
© Copyright 2020 Science and Skiing VIII. Book of the 8th International Congress on Science and Skiing. Julkaistu Tekijä University of Jyväskylä; Vuokatti Sports Technology Unit of the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences of the University of Jyväskylä. Kaikki oikeudet pidätetään. / Kääntänyt https://www.DeepL.com/Translator