NTRODUCTION: To reduce the risk of equipment related injuries in snowboarding, the development of enhanced snowboard equipment is considered in literature. Therefore, it is essential to understand the biomechanics of snowboarding especially with regard to ankle and knee joint loading. In the biomechanical literature only a few studies are available that have focused on the determination of joint loading within the lower extremities in snowboarding (Klous, 2007; McAlpine, 2010). However, these studies are limited to the analysis in a restricted capture volume due to the use of optical video based systems. To overcome this restriction the purpose of this study was to develop a method to determine net joint moments within the lower extremities in snowboarding for complete measurement runs. METHOD: A full body inertial measurement system (Xsens) was used to collect kinematic data. The applicability of the System in snowboarding was shown in a recent study (Krüger & Edelmann-Nusser, 2009). Additionally, two custom made force plates (McAlpine, 2010) were mounted to the snowboard to measure kinetic data. An experienced snowboarder performed four runs on a slope with 13 turns as well as two free runs including jumps. A rigid, multi-segment model was developed to describe the motion and loads of the two joints of the ankle (McAlpine, 2010) as well as of the knee joint and of the hip joint. This model was based on an existing lower body model (Delp et al., 2007) and designed to be run by the OpenSim Software package. Measured kinetic and kinematic data were imported into the OpenSim program and inverse dynamic calculations were made to estimate joint moments. RESULTS & DISCUSSION: Figure 1 illustrates the multi-segment model performing a toe side turn. The data analysis is still in progress. However, first results reveal values (e.g. approx. 400 Nm at the knee joint; flexion-extension moment) close to net moments presented by Klous (2007). CONCLUSION: The developed method enables the calculation of joint loading within the lower extremities in snowboarding for complete measurement runs. This is of importance to gain a deeper understanding of the biomechanics of snowboarding and to provide data that is valuable for the development of enhanced snowboard equipment. The accuracy and validity of the calculated net moments needs to be studied further.
© Copyright 2010 Book of Abstracts. 5th International Congress on Science and Skiing, Dec. 14 - 19, 2010, St. Christoph am Arlberg. Published by University of Salzburg, Interfakultärer Fachbereich Sport- und Bewegungswissenschaft/USI. All rights reserved.