| Summary: | Winter sports such as skiing and
snowboarding are becoming increasingly popular among all age groups, as
practicing these sports has seen an upward trend, which has led to an increase in
the number of injuries and pathologies related to them. Practicing
skiing/snowboarding entails a series of vibrations occurring in the equipment,
their propagation along the kinetic chain impacting both in a positive and
negative way the health of the person in question. The study was a comparison,
skiing vs. snowboarding, between the vibrations experienced by
professional and non-professional athletes, with the main objective of
determining which of them produces greater vibrations and identifying the
negative and positive effects they have. The study was performed under field
conditions using sensors designed to record vibrations on the ski/snowboard
(tip/nose and tail), as well as vibration sensors located in the ankle, knee, hip
and lumbosacral areas, designed to record the propagation of vibrations along the
kinetic chain. The results show a higher level of vibrations recorded on the ski
than on the snowboard, while their transmission along the kinetic chain is
inversely proportional. The conclusion relates to the choice of
skiing/snowboarding. Therefore, due to the Whole-Body Vibration phenomenon, young
people are more likely to choose snowboarding due to the possibility of
increasing bone quality and quantity, while older people are rather fond of
skiing, given its effect along the kinetic chain, which protects the skeletal
system. Studies have provided evidence to suggest alpine skiing is an appropriate
activity for elderly as a health-enhancing sport. Thus, perhaps alpine skiing
could provide the physical activity needed to counteract age-related degradation
processes and loss of function.
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