Katja Magdalena Osterwald

Katja has a BSc. in Rehabilitation/Prevention Therapy and Fitness (Sport Science) from Technical University Chemnitz, Germany. Katja has previously worked as a Senior Biomechanist and Research Assistant at the Sports Surgery Clinic in Dublin (SSC). Through this position she has extensive experience of 3D motion capture using Vicon Nexus, force plates (AMTI and ForceDecks), isokinetic dynamometry (Cybex Norm) and she has been exposed to both Electromyography (Delsys Trigno) and inertial measurement units (TurningSense and Shimmer, Xsens) as well as analyzing and reporting back results to elite athletes and patients.

Title

Biomechanical Characteristics of Resisted Sprints

Project About

Resisted sprint training (RST) is an effective training modality for improving sprint performance. However, there is a lack of clarity around how it influences kinematics during RST both acutely and following training interventions. Katja’s project serves to provide novel experimental data in these areas, enhancing the scientific understanding of kinematic changes during RST providing a basis for future studies.

Practical Impact of Project

The results of Katja’s project will help coaches to create more specific training plans and the optimal use of RST, possibly leading to a greater transfer from practice to performance. This is essential given the importance of speed and sprint performance in sport.

Major finding of project

Key outcomes of Katja’s project so far have been that load has a significant effect on resisted sprint kinematics during both acceleration and maximum velocity running and that team sport athletes and sprint athletes, respond to RST in a very similar manner. Moreover, stronger athletes might be able to handle a higher overload without displaying changes in kinematics.

Publications

A COMPARISON BETWEEN THE MODERN AND THE LOWER BODY GOLF SWING TECHNIQUES–PILOT STUDY WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR LOWER BACK INJURY RISK S Breen, K Osterwald, C Richter, E Petushek – ISBS Proceedings Archive, 2019; Fall detection system by machine learning framework for public health TB Rodrigues, DP Salgado, MC Cordeiro… – Procedia Computer Science, 2018; Kinematic characteristics of resisted sled sprints under different loading conditions KM Osterwald, D Kelly, T Braga Rodrigues… – ISBS Proceedings Archive, 2020; Resisted sled sprint kinematics: the acute effect of load and sporting population KM Osterwald, DT Kelly, TM Comyns, CÓ Catháin – Sports, 2021; An assessment of the transparency of contemporary technology education research employing interview-based methodologies J Buckley, L Adams, I Aribilola, I Arshad, M Azeem… – International Journal of Technology and Design …, 2021

Supervisors

Dr Ciarán Ó Catháin and Dr David Kelly