Günter Amesberger

Perceived key injury risk factors in World Cup alpine ski racing—an explorative qualitative study with expert stakeholders

Background There is limited knowledge about key injury risk factors in alpine ski racing, particularly for World Cup (WC) athletes. Objective This study was undertaken to compile and explore perceived intrinsic and extrinsic risk factors for severe injuries in WC alpine ski racing. Methods Qualitative study. Interviews were conducted with 61 expert stakeholders of the WC ski racing community. Experts’ statements were collected, paraphrased and loaded into a database with inductively derived risk factor categories (Risk Factor Analysis). At the end of the interviews, experts were asked to name those risk factors they believed to have a high potential impact on injury risk and to rank them according to their priority of impact (Risk Factor Rating). Results In total, 32 perceived risk factors categories were derived from the interviews within the basic categories Athlete, Course, Equipment and Snow. Regarding their perceived impact on injury risk, the experts’ top five categories were: system ski, binding, plate and boot; changing snow conditions; physical aspects of the athletes; speed and course setting aspects and speed in general. Conclusions Severe injuries in WC alpine ski racing can have various causes. This study compiled a list of perceived intrinsic and extrinsic risk factors and explored those factors with the highest believed impact on injury risk. Hence, by using more detailed hypotheses derived from this explorative study, further studies should verify the plausibility of these factors as true risk factors for severe injuries in WC alpine ski racing.

Alpine Skiing With total knee ArthroPlasty (ASWAP): physical activity, knee function, pain, exertion, and well-being.

This study focused on the psychological and quality of life aspects of resuming alpine skiing practice after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in elderly skilled skiers. Two data pools were used in order to analyze psychological states: (a) at the beginning, at the end, and 8 weeks after a 12‐week skiing intervention; and (b) concerning diurnal variations of states (i.e., skiing days compared with everyday life during intervention and retention phase). In particular, effects of skiing on amount of physical activity and perceived exertion, perceived pain and knee function, and subjective well‐being were analyzed using a control group design. Results reveal that the skiing intervention substantially increases the amount of physical activity by the intervention group (122.30 ± 32.38 min/day), compared with the control group (75.14 ± 21.27 min/day) [F (2, 32) = 8.22, P < 0.01, η2 = 0.34)]. Additionally, the analyses of psychological states demonstrated that skiing goes along with enhanced well‐being and no significant impact on perceived pain, exertion or knee function. In sum, alpine skiing can be recommended for older persons with TKA with respect to well‐being, perceived pain and knee function, and perceived exertion.

Does a skiing intervention influence the psycho-social characteristics of the elderly?

The purpose of this study was to assess whether a guided alpine skiing intervention lasting 12 weeks has an impact on psycho‐social dimensions, measured by subjective assessments, of individuals who are 60+ years of age. A number of well‐established questionnaires were used to measure well‐being, life satisfaction, self‐concept, health status, depression and self‐efficacy. The physical self‐concept in the domain “strength” increased significantly in the intervention group from pre‐ to post‐test and remained stable through the retention test, whereas the control group demonstrated nearly no alteration. A similar effect was obtained in life satisfaction for the dimension “friends and relatives.” On the contrary, psycho‐social aspects of the elderly were not negatively influenced. The subjects of this study had very high pre‐test scores that might reflect a ceiling effect which, in turn, can explain the marginal positive impact of the intervention. The findings of this study argue for recommending a guided alpine skiing intervention for individuals who are 60 years of age and older with high values in psycho‐social variables.

Alpine Skiing With total knee ArthroPlasty (ASWAP): physical self-concept, pain, and life satisfaction.

Physical self‐concept in the elderly is assumed to be structured in terms of different domains and to contribute substantially to life satisfaction. However, little is known about the role of the physical self‐concept in older persons that are engaged in physical activity while suffering from typical age‐related impairments or chronic diseases. The present study aimed to investigate the structure of physical self‐concept in a group of older persons with total knee arthroplasty (TKA), its development throughout a 12‐week skiing intervention, and its importance to life satisfaction. Factor analyses of the present data reveal that the physical self‐concept consists of four dimensions addressing strength, flexibility/coordination, endurance, and sportiness. One higher order factor extracted by hierarchical factor analyses reflects a global physical self‐concept. The 12‐week skiing intervention had no substantial impact in terms of an improvement of self‐concept. Life satisfaction is best predicted by positive changes in the subjective ratings between pre‐ and post‐test (i.e., global physical self‐concept, flexibility and coordination, and perceived sportiness) and not by objective physical performance (isokinetic strength, endurance, or coordination). Results support the assumption that physical self‐concept of older people with TKA is only marginally sensitive to a 12‐week skiing intervention.

Effect of a skiing intervention on the psycho-physiological reactivity and recovery in the elderly.

This study determined the effects of a skiing intervention lasting 12 weeks on the psycho‐physiological reactivity to and recovery from mental stressors in individuals who are 60+ years of age. In accordance with the cross‐stressor hypothesis, it was assumed that a skiing intervention optimizes psycho‐physiological pre‐conditions for coping with stress. A cognitive task was used to investigate stress‐induced changes (reactivity) in the high‐frequency (HF) component of the heart rate variability (HRV) and in the skin conductance level (SCL) as well as recovery from this stressor. The intervention group demonstrated a significant increase in maximal oxygen consumption that was not accompanied by alterations in HRV at rest. In comparison with the control group, there was no difference in the alteration of the reactivity and recovery in the HF component and in the SCL after completing the training. The findings indicate that neither the psycho‐physiological reactivity nor the recovery was influenced by the skiing intervention. It may be speculated that the intensity of the skiing intervention was too low to induce such adaptations. Therefore, further studies are encouraged to enhance the duration and intensity of the exercises to achieve adaptations of the autonomous nervous system of elderly individuals.

Sport type determines differences in executive functions in elite athletes

Objectives: Past research has indicated the significance of Executive Functions (EF) in several sports. According to the cognitive skill transfer hypothesis, training in specific cognitive tasks may have beneficial effects on related but untrained tasks. Considering the differing cognitive demands of several sports, differences in EF between sport types were addressed. Design: EF performances of elite athletes in static, interceptive, and strategic sports were compared using a cross sectional study design. Method: Austrian elite athletes (N = 184; 110 male/64 female; mean age 23.21 ± 4.48 years) of various sports conducted three tests at the starting point of their sport‐psychological consultancy, measuring inhibition and interference control (flanker task), cognitive shifting (adopted flanker task including a second task to shift response reactions) and working memory (2‐back task). Results: MANOVAs for each test indicated differences between sport types: Strategic sports revealed benefits in comparison to static sports in mean reaction times, cognitive shifting and to a certain extent working memory. Discriminant analysis clarified a significant differentiation between these three sport types considering the main scores of all three tests as independent variables. Conclusions: The results emphasize the role of EF in high‐performance sports and demonstrate that athletes differ in EF according to their individual sports. This finding suggests that the development of EF might be favored by the deliberate practice of strategic sports, and/or that EF might play a more prominent role in strategic sports. HighlightsDifferences in Executive Functions (EF) between sport types were detected.184 elite athletes of various sports conducted three tests measuring core EF.Athletes of strategic sports showed benefits on inhibition and shifting.Athletes of static sports showed worse EF performances.

Consumer-Grade Brain Stimulation Devices in Sports: A Challenge for Traditional Sport Psychology?

The implementation of noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) techniques to improve sports performance is getting more and more popular. There are, however, practical and ethical concerns about the benefits of using NIBS in sports psychology. Two studies on the efficacy of two specific NIBS devices—AVWF method and OGIRO Modulation—were conducted and revealed no obvious benefits for cognitive and mental skills and psychophysiological activity in pupils and sport students. Recommendations derived from the empirical effectiveness of NIBS for the ethical application in routine training protocols are discussed. Finally, we suggest guidelines for sports psychologists who are faced with modern technological devices.

Einsatz von Biofeedback im Sport

Angewandte Sportpsychologie, insbesondere im Leistungssport, zielt unter anderem darauf ab, die individuellen psychischen Leistungsvoraussetzungen von Sportlern zu optimieren, das soziale Umfeld mitzugestalten und praventive Masnahmen fur die bio-psycho-soziale Gesundheit und Leistungsfahigkeit zu setzen.