Dieter Schnell

Dieter Schnell 2011

Dieter Kurt Fritz Schnell (born July 30, 1938 in Landau / Pfalz ) is a German doctor, ophthalmologist and sports medicine specialist . The establishment and development of sports ophthalmology as a special field of ophthalmology can be attributed to his initiatives.

Education and career

Growing up in Annweiler as the son of a general practitioner, Schnell studied medicine in Munich after graduating from high school in Zinzendorf in Königsfeld in the Black Forest in 1958. A compact sports course took place in 1959/60 in Munich-Grünwald. At the University of Munich he passed the medical state examination in 1964 and was awarded a Dr. med. PhD. He completed his medical assistantship at the regional hospitals in Eitorf and Waldbröl . From 1967 to 1974 he worked at the University Eye Clinic in Cologne, where he qualified as a specialist in ophthalmology and, as a senior physician, headed the vision school and the laboratory for tonography and ophthalmodynamography for four years .

In 1974 he established himself as an attending physician at the Waldbröl District Hospital. In 1977 he acquired the additional qualification in sports medicine . Later came group practice in Waldbröl with Sehschule , contactology and operating activities. In 2003 he ended this activity.

Working in sports and sports medicine

Even a successful gymnast, trampoline jumper (multiple medalist at regional and German championships) and athlete (1957: 10.9 s over 100 m), Schnell turned to sports medicine at an early stage.

Since 1964 he has been active in the sports medicine of the state of North Rhine and has been leading the further and advanced training courses at the Hennef sports school since 1967 . Dieter Schnell was the attending physician for the German Olympic team at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico, 1972 in Munich and 1976 in Montreal.

In 1975 Schnell was elected Vice President of the German Sports Medical Association for further education and training and held this office for 31 years. He brought about the standardization of further and advanced training in sports medicine in Germany, especially after reunification with the newly formed state sports physicians' associations in the acceding area . The current curriculum for further training in sports medicine was and still is significantly shaped by him.

Scientific, teaching and lecturing activities

Schnell's experience in caring for eye patients and injured persons at the Olympic Games in 1968 (Mexico) and 1972 (Munich) led to the creation of a new branch of ophthalmology, sports ophthalmology, which later became his main field of activity. His working group of sports scientists, sports doctors, opticians and ophthalmologists laid the first foundations for the new field of knowledge in 1973. Above all, the experience with the new soft contact lenses , which were also used at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, established his main research area "Contact lenses and sport". Several thousand adjustments of contact lenses and evaluations of the corresponding findings led to numerous publications. The publications of norms of visual functions for the individual Olympic disciplines were the result of years of research.

Since the 80s of the last century he has been giving lectures at the German Sport University , the Cologne Trainer Academy of the German Olympic Sports Association and the Medical Faculty of the University of Cologne on the subjects of sport and the eye , further training in sports medicine , as well as eye diseases and sport . He disseminated the findings of his research and experience in around 400 lectures at sports doctor courses nationwide and in German-speaking countries. He was a key designer of sports ophthalmological weekends for ophthalmologists and opticians in Cologne, Hennef, Bochum, Essen and several times in Zurich.

In 2005 he became editor-in-chief and publisher of the newly founded journal “Current Contactology”, which is dedicated to theoretical and practical knowledge of contact lenses and sports ophthalmology. In 2007, the North Rhine Sports Medical Association appointed him director of the newly established academy for further training in sports medicine in Cologne.

Publications

Quickly wrote 145 scientific papers on sports medicine, ophthalmology, sports ophthalmology and contactology as well as articles in 6 textbooks with several new editions (sports medicine, diving medicine , accident medicine). Including:

• School sports exemptions from lessons for diseases and injuries to the eyes. In: The ophthalmologist. 15 (1), 1981, pp. 14-27.

• The visual requirements for high-performance athletes in the Olympic squad. In: Dtsch. Ztsch. Sportmed. 35, 1984, pp. 7-10.

• That can be eye-catching. (Monograph). Verlag Sport und Buch Strauss, 1997.

• Eyes. In: Ch. Klingmann, K. Tetzlaff (ed.): Modern diving medicine - manual for diving instructors, divers and doctors. Gentner-Verlag, 2007, ISBN 978-3-87247-645-6 , pp. 449-469.

• Multi-center bandage lens study. In: Akt. Kontaktologie. 4 (11) 2008, pp. 23-33.

• Visual system. In: HH Dickhuth, F. Mayer, K. Röcker, A. Berg (eds.): Sports medicine for doctors. 2nd Edition. Deutscher Ärzteverlag, Cologne 2010, ISBN 978-3-7691-0611-4 , pp. 209-229.

Around 600 articles in sports medicine and (sports) ophthalmology were produced for magazines, television programs and the media.

Honors and awards (selection)

• 1978: Badge of Honor of the German Gymnastics Federation
• Honorary member of the state sports physicians associations Rhineland-Palatinate (1984) and Westphalia (1992)
• 1995: Science award (for contact lens research) from the professional association of ophthalmologists in Germany
• 1999: Federal Cross of Merit on ribbon
• 2006: Golden Badge of Honor and Honorary Member of the Board of the German Society for Sports Medicine and Prevention
• 2007: Badge of Honor of the North Rhine Sports Medical Association

Schnell also won several prizes for scientific and practical films (on sports, anti-doping and contact lens topics) at sports film days and congresses.

literature

• KH Arndt, H. Löllgen, D. Schnell; DGSP (ed.): 100 Years of GERMAN SPORTMEDICINE. Druckhaus Verlag, Gera 2012, ISBN 978-3-9814576-4-3 .
• W. Hollmann, K. Tittel: History of the German sports medicine. Druckhaus Gera, 2008, ISBN 978-3-9811758-2-0 .
• U. Künstlinger: 31 years in the Presidium of the DGSP - Dr. Dieter Schnell. In: Dt. Zschr. F. Sportmed. 57, 6, 2006, SV

Web links

Commons : Dieter Schnell  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• D. Schnell: How much eye does sport need? In: Dtsch Arztebl. 1999; 96 (14), pp. A-925 / B-706 / C-646.
• pressetext.de