Citation

Ekstrand J, Timpka T, Hägglund M. Br. J. Sports Med. 2006; 40(12): 975-980.

Affiliation

Linköping University, Sweden.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, BMJ Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1136/bjsm.2006.027623

PMID

16990444

PMCID

PMC2577464

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To compare the injury risk when playing elite football (soccer) on artificial turf versus natural grass. DESIGN: Prospective two-cohort study SETTING: Male European elite football leagues PARTICIPANTS: 290 players from 10 elite European clubs that had installed third-generation artificial turf surfaces 2003-04, and 202 players from the Swedish Premier League acting as a control group. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Injury incidence. RESULTS: The incidence of injury during training and match play did not differ between surfaces for the teams in the artificial turf cohort, being 2.42 vs. 2.94 injuries/1000 training hours and 19.60 vs. 21.48 injuries/1000 match hours when playing on artificial turf and grass respectively. The risk for ankle sprain was increased when playing matches on artificial turf compared to grass (4.83 vs. 2.66 injuries/1000 match hours; rate ratio 1.81, 95% CI 1.00 to 3.28). No difference in injury severity was seen between surfaces. Compared to the control cohort who played home games on natural grass, teams in the artificial turf cohort had a lower injury incidence during match play (15.26 vs. 23.08 injuries/1000 match hours; rate ratio 0.66, 95%CI 0.48 to 0.91). CONCLUSIONS: No evidence of a greater risk for injury when playing football on artificial turf compared to playing on natural grass was found. The higher incidence of ankle sprain on artificial turf warrants further attention, though this result should be interpreted with caution since the number of ankle sprains was low.

Language: en