Christian Raschner

University of Innsbruck | UIBK · Department of Sport Science

Die hohe Prävalenz von Rückenbeschwerden in der Bevölkerung, insbesondere von Schmerzen im Bereich der Lendenwirbelsäule, hat negative Auswirkungen auf die individuelle Lebensqualität und Fehlzeiten am Arbeitsplatz. Als mögliche Ursachen wurden unter anderem eine verminderte Rumpfkraft und/oder eine schlechte neuromuskuläre Ansteuerung beschrieben....

Purpose The aim of the present study was to evaluate the trunk strength capacity of alpine ski racers aged 10–18 years, who were tested during the last 15 years, to identify reference values for trunk flexor to extensor strength ratios according to age and sex. Methods In total, 2841 participants (1605 males, 1236 females; 10–18 years) were includ...

Background: Physical fitness is an important component in the development of youth alpine ski racers. To write systematically planned and age-appropriate fitness programs athletes need to be physically tested at regular intervals at an early age. Although well-developed hamstring muscle strength is important for alpine ski racing performance and th...

Geographical regions possess distinct sporting cultures that can influence athletic development from a young age. The United States (US) and Austria both produce elite alpine ski racers, yet have distinct sport structures (i.e., funding, skiing prominence). In this exploratory study, we investigated sport outcomes and psychological profiles in adol...

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0239378.].

Featured Application: The Intelligent Motion Lifter is a new mechatronic strength training device that allows safe and effective strength training with supramaximal loads. Abstract: Eccentric muscular work plays a large role in alpine ski racing. Training with supramaximal eccentric loads (SME) is highly effective to improve eccentric strength but...

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether anthropometric and fitness characteristics have changed between former and current elite male and female Austrian young ski racers (U11-U15). Methods: A battery of anthropometric, general, and skiing-specific fitness tests was conducted annually. In total, 1517 participants (846 males, 671 f...

In American football, high quality training focused on catching is currently not done with passing machines due to their poor pass accuracy and precision. From a coach’s point of view, accurate and precise passing machines are needed to relieve the quarterback from too much training effort. The two aims of this study were to increase the precision...

Highly efficient training is a must in professional sports. Presently, this means doing exercises in high number and quality with some sort of data logging. In American football many things are logged, but there is no wearable sensor that logs a catch or a drop. Therefore, the goal of this paper was to develop and verify a sensor that is able to do...

The aim of the present study was to investigate prospectively the role of biological maturity status, anthropometric percentiles, and core flexion to extension strength ratios in the context of traumatic and overuse injury risk identification in youth ski racing. In this study, 72 elite youth ski racers (45 males, 27 females) were prospectively obs...

Research investigating the nature and scope of developmental participation patterns leading to international senior-level success is mainly explorative up to date. One of the criticisms of earlier research was its typical multiple testing for many individual participation variables using bivariate, linear analyses. Here, we applied state-of-the-art...

Zusammenfassung Weltweit üben über 100 000 Personen den Paragleitsport aktiv aus. Bisherige Studien analysierten meist retrospektiv Krankenhausdaten oder Einsatzprotokolle von Rettungskräften und fokussierten sich auf die Verletzungsmuster von Paragleitunfällen. Unfallursachen und Einflussfaktoren wurden kaum betrachtet. Daher war das Ziel der vorl...

Passing a ball is a central aspect in the game of American Football. However, current passing machines do not fulfill the high quality standards for adequate catch training. The goal was to realize a passing machine that could do precise and accurate passes in a fully automated way in order to create high quality automated catch training. Automatio...

Background The purpose was to investigate the role of training load characteristics and injury and illness risk in youth ski racing. Methods The training load characteristics as well as traumatic injuries, overuse injuries and illnesses of 91 elite youth ski racers (age: 12.1 ± 1.3 years, mean ± SD) were prospectively recorded over a period of 1 s...

Functional tests are used to facilitate return-to-sports decisions after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). This study presents comprehensive physical fitness test data acquired in highly active patients within the first year after ACLR, for comparison between different grafts, age groups, and sexes. The outcomes from a specific seve...

Alpine ski racing is a sport with a high risk of injuries. In order to contribute to the longitudinal career development of young athletes, prevention measures should be elaborated. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate prospectively the role of biological maturity status, and changes in anthropometric characteristics and physi...

Purpose: To analyze the predictive value of parameters of submaximal and maximal cardiopulmonary exercise performance on International Ski Federation (Fédération Internationale de Ski) World Cup ranking (FIS ranking) in elite Austrian Alpine skiers. Methods: Over 7 World Cup seasons (2012-2018), exercise data (maximal oxygen uptake and maximum p...

Im Winter lockt es viele auf die Piste. Nicht selten kommt es dabei zu Unfällen. Einer der Risikofaktoren für Verletzungen auf Skipisten sind Kollisionen. Um diese zu vermeiden, wurden die FIS-Pistenregeln entwickelt. Damit sie wirken können, sollten Ski- und Snowboardfahrer sie jedoch auch kennen. Doch das tun offenbar nur wenige in ausreichendem...

The relative age effect (RAE) represents an asymmetry in birth quarter distribution, favoring athletes born early in the selection year and discriminating against late born athletes. The RAE was proven to be present in all age categories of national and international levels of alpine ski racing. Due to the existence of the RAE in all categories, it...

Injuries in skiing show sex-specific differences, especially when visual perception is reduced. Reduced visual perception impairs balance, which plays an important role in avoiding skiing injuries. However, males and females might cope differently with reduced visual perception. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate sex-related effects of env...

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether oxygen supplementation immediately prior to exercise (FiO2=1.0) improves all-out exercise performance in normobaric hypoxia (3500m) in highly skilled skiers. Methods: In this single-blind, randomized, crossover study, 17 subjects performed a 60 s constant-load, all-out test in a normo...

Tourism has become a highly competitive sector, forcing destinationsto reinvent and constantly enhance extraordinary experiences in accordancewith their miscellaneous destination characteristics, whilst considering mountainbiking as a growing phenomenon. This study, therefore, aims at providinga general profile of bike park visitors and at identify...

Alpine ski racing is one of the most popular sports in many countries; nevertheless, selection disadvantages and severe injuries result in high dropout rates. In this review we summarize existing knowledge about the specific challenges associated with selection bias and injuries, and their effects on talent development in ski racing. The relative a...

Research has demonstrated that the human being tends to couple body movements and external, acoustic stimuli (metronome or music). This effect is called auditory-motor synchronization. Motivational music possesses qualities which distract from feelings like fatigue and exertion. Combining these two effects may enhance the sports performance even mo...

Monitoring of anaerobic power and capacity in elite female alpine ski racers.

Abstract This study investigated the 4-year development of anaerobic power and capacity in Austrian elite female alpine ski racers and examined the relationship between the 2-minute loaded repeated jump test (LRJT) results and ski racing performance (International Ski Federation (FIS) points). Ten Austrian elite female ski racers were tested prior...

We recently demonstrated that recreationally strength trained men, randomly assigned to either a Hatfield-System (HAT) group or a weekly undulating periodisation (WUP) group showed significant increases in strength and power during only 2 mesocycles (6 weeks) without differences between groups. The questions arise, whether an additional mesocycle w...

Alpine combined was the only alpine ski racing event at the first Winter Olympic Games in 1936, but since then, slalom, giant slalom, super-G, downhill, and team events have also become Olympic events. Substantial improvements in slope preparation, design of courses, equipment, and the skills of Olympic alpine skiers have all helped this sport atta...

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of SME combined with isotonic training and traditional isotonic training on one repetition maximum (1RM) bench press.

Purpose The aims of this study were to assess differences of limb symmetry index (LSI) in strength- and coordination-related tasks between high-level, competitive, noninjured ski racers of different age-related performance levels and to prospectively assess limb differences as a possible risk factor for traumatic and overuse injury in youth ski rac...

Context In order to objectively evaluate knee function after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction and a patient’s possible return to sport, a standardized and easy-to-use test battery has been developed. Objective The aim of this study was to compare the outcomes of a test battery in football players with data of are ference group. Design...

Objectives: To assess the fitness of elite alpine skiers during recovery from anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction and changes in performance level after return to competition. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Methods: The database of a specialized sports clinic was screened for professional alpine skiers with a history of ACL ru...

This article focuses on the development of release velocity and spin prediction models for oval shaped footballs with a state-of-the-art passing machine. Since the trajectory of the ball can be predicted with aerodynamic models, the state of the ball at release time is of interest. At present, no prediction model for this initial state exists. This...

The aim of the study was to assess the role of the relative age effect (RAE) and to investigate the influence of the biological maturity status on the RAE in international under-9 soccer. The birth dates of 222 male participants of the U9 Eurochampionship Soccer Tournament in Vienna in 2016 were analyzed and divided into four relative age quarters...

The use of a modern social media platform such as Instagram generates a great tool to support and encourage athletes to deal with sport nutrition as a major component of their daily training routine.

The purpose of this study was to compare training adaptations attained during six weeks of using the Hatfield-system and six weeks of the weekly undulating periodisation strength training. Twenty-six recreationally strength trained men were randomly assigned to either a Hatfield-system group (n = 13; age = 26.8 ± 7.2 years) or a weekly undulating p...

Introduction Research on isocaloric training is rare. Several studies used external load such as intensity and duration, but not the current total energy expenditure (EE; Cunha et al., 2015). Aim of this study was to compare four endurance training methods – ‘high intensity interval training’ (HIIT), ‘threshold training’ (THR), ‘sprint interval tra...

Although balance is a key ability in the strength demands of alpine ski racing, affecting both performance and injury prevention, few studies have examined balance or related sex differences among still-maturing athletes. In this 10-year study, we investigated cross-sectional balance performances at different age periods of a representative sample...

Alpine ski racing is known to be a sport with a high risk of injuries. Because most studies have focused mainly on top-level athletes and on traumatic injuries, limited research exists about injury risk factors among youth ski racers. The aim of this study was to determine the intrinsic risk factors (anthropometrics, biological maturity, physical f...

Since the relative age effect (RAE) characterizes a problem in all age categories of alpine ski racing and soccer and the fact that, yet, to date the underlying factors have not been well investigated, the aim of the present study was to assess the influence of the biological maturity status on the RAE among youth alpine ski racers (YSR) and soccer...

Background The jurisdiction after a winter sport accident including a third party fault considers the 10 rules for safe skiing/snowboarding introduced by the International Ski Federation (FIS) to clarify the question of liability. A previous study revealed that beginners, young skiers and those who were not local residents displayed insufficient sa...

Core muscle imbalances and weak trunk strength are relevant for injury prevention and performance. Information regarding core strength requirements and ideal flexion/extension ratios in alpine skiing is limited. We aimed to compare trunk strength capacities in elite alpine skiers with those of a matched control group. The concentric maximal trunk f...

Background Studies on injuries and illnesses involving youth ski racers younger than 15 years are lacking in the literature. The aim of this study was prospectively to assess the incidence, prevalence, and severity of traumatic and overuse injuries, as well as illnesses of elite youth ski racers with regard to sex, biological maturity status, and r...

Medical Infrared Thermography (MIT) makes it possible to quantify regulatory processes of the skin blood flow based on the amount of heat dissipated on the skin surface. The aim of the study was to assess the acute effect of the regenerative device Wobbler® on peripheral blood flow by using the non-invasive technology of MIT. The temperature distri...

MECHATRONIC DRIVEN TRAINING DEVICES: POSSIBLE INJURY PREVENTION IN ELITE ALPINE SKI RACERS Christian Raschner, Christoph Ebenbichler, Roland Luchner, Carson Patterson 1Department of Sport Science, University Innsbruck, Austria Keywords: strength training, eccentric training, shocks, elite athletes. INTRODUCTION. Injury prevention should be a cri...

The aim of this study was to analyse the role of a relative age effect (RAE) and to investigate the influence of biological maturity status on the RAE at the 7th International Children`s Winter Games. The birth dates of all 572 participants (365 males, 207 females) were analysed, and the biological maturity status of 384 athletes (243 males, 141 fe...

The relative age effect (RAE) is a well-documented phenomenon in youth sports. This effect exists when the relative age quarter distribution of selected athletes shows a biased distribution with an over-representation of relatively older athletes. In alpine ski racing, it exists in all age categories (national youth levels up to World Cup). Studies...

The relative age effect (RAE), which refers to an over-representation of athletes born early in a selection year, represents a problem in various types of sport. The purpose of the present review is to draw together the existing literature concerning the full extent of the RAE, the influence of relative age on the overall performance/results and th...

The aim of this study was to define the role of the relative age effect in the 12th Winter European Youth Olympic Festival 2015. The birth dates of all 899 participants and anthropometric data of 655 participants were analyzed. A significant relative age effect was present in the total sample and among the male athletes but not in the female athlet...

The relative age effect (RAE), which refers to an over-representation of selected athletes born early in the selection year, was proven to be present in alpine ski racing in all age categories at both national and international levels. However, the influential factors on, or the causal mechanisms of, the RAE are still unknown. Therefore, the aim of...

The relative age effect (RAE), which refers to an over representation of athletes born early in a selection year, recently was proven to be present in alpine skiing. However, it was not made apparent whether the RAE exists as early as at the youngest level of youth ski racing at national level, nor whether the relative age influences racing perform...

The purpose of this study was to utilize a novel functional test system to facilitate determining the time of return to sports following ACL reconstruction. Sixty-nine patients with unilateral ACL reconstruction were included in this pilot study. All the patients performed a standardized test battery consisting of one- and two-legged stability test...

Background: The biological maturity status plays an important role in sports, since it influences the performance level and the talent selection in various types of sport. More mature athletes are favorably selected for regional and national squads. Therefore, the biological maturity status should be considered during the talent selection process....

Return to activity remains the most common concern following an injury. To facilitate the decision regarding a patient's return to sport, we developed a standardized and easy-to-use test battery to enable an objective evaluation of knee function. The test battery consisted of seven functional tests: the two-leg stability test, one-leg stability tes...

The Relative Age Effect (RAE) refers to an over-representation of athletes born early in a selection year. The aims of this study were twofold: to test the presence of RAE depending on the gender and age in young alpine ski racers, and to test the influence of the level of physical motor skills on RAE. We investigated 989 participants of the entran...

To determine the effectiveness of exercise in improving sensorimotor function and functional performance as crucial part of activities of daily living in healthy older adults. RCT. Setting: Laboratory. Participants: 39 subjects (M = 71.8 years, range: 61-89 years). Task oriented visual feedback balance training. Primary outcome measure: Timed up &...

The sensorimotor system (SMS) plays an important role in sports and in every day movement. Several tools for assessment and training have been designed. Many of them are directed to specific populations, and have major shortcomings due to the training effect or safety. The aim of the present study was to design and assess a dynamic sensorimotor tes...

Alpine skiing is one of the most popular leisure time winter sporting activities. Skiing imposes high requirements concerning physical fitness, particularly regarding balance abilities. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the changes in balance performance of recreational skiers after a seven-day ski camp. A total of 78 students - 24 w...

Aim. The human body's ability to sense positions of body parts in the three dimensional space is defined as the joint position sense (JPS). Worsening of JPS due to acute local fatigue in e.g. shoulder joints coincides with a decline of handball specific abilities such as throwing accuracy. The purpose of our study was to determine the influence of...

Die Frage nach dem optimalen Zeitpunkt fur einen sicheren Wiedereinstieg in den Sport nach Rekonstruktion des vorderen Kreuzbandes (VKB) ist oft schwierig zu beantworten. Um den funktionellen Kniestatus zu bestimmen, werden haufig objektivierbare Testmethoden verwendet. Diese prospektive Studie untersuchte die Anwendbarkeit der speziell entwickelte...

The purposes of this study were to test the reproducibility of the 2.5 min loaded repeated jump test (LRJT) and to test the effectiveness of general preparation period (GPP) training on anaerobic fitness of elite alpine ski racers with the LRJT. Thirteen male volunteers completed 2 LRJTs to examine reliability. Nine male Austrian elite junior racer...

This study examined the relationship between parenting practices and competitive trait anxiety in artistic and rhythmic gymnasts. Questionnaires were administered to 170 Austrian female gymnasts (114 age = 12 years) and assessed perceptions of parenting practices as well as levels of competitive trait anxiety. A significant influence of directive b...

Der alpine Wintersport hat in Österreich durch seine vielen internationalen Erfolge im Skirennlauf, Snowboard und Ski Cross einen hohen gesellschaftlichen Stellenwert. Diese Sportarten erfordern in allen Altersgruppen eine sehr gut ausgebildete körperliche Leistungsfähigkeit. Sportspezifische Tests sind für eine optimale Trainingsplanung und indivi...

Background: Injury registrations of competitive young athletes are crucial for injury prevention. Particularly in alpine skiing, limited published data exist. Research question: Aimed to profile the rate of injuries affecting skiers admitted to a ski boarding school. Of particular interest was the comparison of overuse and traumatic injuries during...

The aim of this study was to quantify the cardiorespiratory fitness level of amateur mountain runners and to characterize the related cardiorespiratory and muscular strain during a multi-stage competition. Therefore 16 male amateur participants performed an incremental treadmill test prior to the Transalpine-Run 2010. Beside race time, heart rate (...

Background Owing to the separation into age groups at the first winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG), athletes differed in age by up to two years, leading to a potential relative age effect (RAE). Objective The purpose of this study was to define the role of the RAE in the first winter YOG with regard to sex, type of sport and performance. Methods The...

Background Epidemiological studies have shown a high incidence of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries among competitive alpine skiers. Little is known regarding modifiable risk factors in young skiers. There are still uncertainties in gender-related risk factors. Objective The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between AC...