Training load characteristics and injury and illness risk identification in elite youth ski racing: A prospective study

PurposeThe study aimed to investigate the role of training load characteristics and injury and illness risk in youth ski racing.MethodsThe 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 season by using a sport-specific online database. Multiple linear regression analyses were performed to monitor the influence of training load on injuries and illnesses. Differences in mean training load characteristics between preseason, in-season, and post-season were calculated using multivariate analyses of variance.ResultsDifferences were discovered in the number of weekly training sessions (p = 0.005) between pre-season (4.97 ± 1.57) and post-season (3.24 ± 0.71), in the mean training volume (p = 0.022) between in-season (865.8 ± 197.8 min) and post-season (497.0 ± 225.5 min) and in the mean weekly training intensity (Index) (p = 0.012) between in-season (11.7 ± 1.8) and post-season (8.9 ± 1.7). A total of 185 medical problems were reported (41 traumatic injuries, 12 overuse injuries, and 132 illnesses). The weekly training volume and training intensity was not a significant risk factor for injuries (p > 0.05). Training intensity was found to be a significant risk factor for illnesses in the same week (β = 0.348; p = 0.044; R² = 0.121) and training volume represents a risk factor for illnesses in the following week (β = 0.397; p = 0.027; R² = 0.157).ConclusionA higher training intensity and volume were associated with increased illnesses, but not with a higher risk of injury. Monitoring training and ensuring appropriate progression of training load between weeks may decrease incidents of illness in-season.     

Lernen im freiwilligen Engagement und gesellschaftliche Partizipation

This contribution analyses the impact of young people’s work on political participation in adulthood on the basis of Dewey’s theory of democratic education and a theory of community service sketched by Reinders. Its primary goal is to examine whether the acquisition of specific skills and specific knowledge obtained in social and political institutions is as important for – or even more important than – future political commitment as the development of pro-social attitudes. Based on survey data (n = 2,052), these assumptions are tested using ordinal probit models. These models show that in addition to effects of changes in attitude, specific experiences in voluntary work seem to be important to promoting political participation. Political commitment is, therefore, indeed closely connected to learning and educational processes in the sense of Dewey.     

Effect of walking speed on lower extremity joint loading in graded ramp walking

Lower extremity joint loading during walking is strongly affected by the steepness of the slope and might cause pain and injuries in lower extremity joint structures. One feasible measure to reduce joint loading is the reduction of walking speed. Positive effects have been shown for level walking, but not for graded walking or hiking conditions. The aim of the study was to quantify the effect of walking speed (separated into the two components, step length and cadence) on the joint power of the hip, knee and ankle and to determine the knee joint forces in uphill and downhill walking. Ten participants walked up and down a ramp with step lengths of 0.46, 0.575 and 0.69 m and cadences of 80, 100 and 120 steps per minute. The ramp was equipped with a force platform and the locomotion was filmed with a 60 Hz video camera. Loading of the lower extremity joints was determined using inverse dynamics. A two-dimensional knee model was used to calculate forces in the knee structures during the stance phase. Walking speed affected lower extremity joint loading substantially and significantly. Change of step length caused much greater loading changes for all joints compared with change of cadence; the effects were more distinct in downhill than in uphill walking. The results indicate that lower extremity joint loading can be effectively controlled by varying step length and cadence during graded uphill and downhill walking. Hikers can avoid or reduce pain and injuries by reducing walking speed, particularly in downhill walking.     

The Pedagogical Qualification of the Academic Teaching Staff and the Quality of Teaching and Learning

The author takes note of the relative unpopularity of pedagogical and in‐service training for university teachers, particularly in the German‐speaking university world, and asks himself why this is the case. The reason, he suggests, has to do with the traditional view that what counts in universities is research, teaching being a secondary preoccupation of the teaching staff. Yet, public opinion as well as selected European higher education institutions and administrations have mounted efforts to make pedagogical training a standard part of the required qualifications of university teaching staff members. Following a survey of European efforts, particularly in the United Kingdom and in Germany, to interest university teachers in university‐level pedagogy, the author presents what a polling of teachers and students in Germany consider to be good teaching practices. He urges all teaching staff members to adopt these practices.