Abstract des Autors

Due to persisting high rates of injuries in Alpine ski racing, the discussions on different measures to decrease the risk of injuries are ongoing. Those measures include changes in skiing equipment, e.g., radius modification of the racing skis by the International Ski Federation (FIS) prior to the season 2013/14 (FIS, 2013), optimized slope preparations, adapted course settings, and improved protective clothing for the athletes. Although knee injuries are still the major musculoskeletal injury localization in Alpine skiing (Brucker et al., 2011; Brucker et al., 2014; Flørenes et al., 2012), there are so far no approved preventive accessories available for the knee joint such as helmets for the head or back protectors for the spine. In a process of more than 4 years, our interdisciplinary research group developed a novel preventive knee brace in conjunction with a specialized compression underwear. Our first preventive brace models have been already introduced into the Alpine World Cup rating scenery. In this article, the developmental process, basic laboratory research, and first in vivo evaluations including exemplary results were presented. Based on the typical injury mechanisms for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) ruptures, the design and function of the novel preventive knee brace focused on the two following mandatory but contradictory demands: 1. Maximal protection. 2. Minimal interference of the athlete's performance.