• Question: Does the playing surface affect the injury? If it does please elaborate.

    Asked by pacy49dap to Liudmila on 9 Nov 2020.
    • Photo: Liudmila Khokhlova

      Liudmila Khokhlova answered on 9 Nov 2020: last edited 9 Nov 2020 4:50 pm

      Great question and not an easy one. The surface type/condition can definitely increase the risk of injury, but also many other factors can, so it is difficult to measure precisely. It also differs for different sports. Few studies say that surfaces with high friction increase the risk of ACL(ligament) injury in soccer and rugby, meaning that an athlete is more likely to get ACL injury playing on a dry field rather than wet. But other injuries might show a different picture. Overall, natural grass is safer than first- and second-generation artificial turf surfaces, but third-generation artificial turf is comparable to natural grass.

      Dragoo, J.L., Braun, H.J. The Effect of Playing Surface on Injury Rate. Sports Med 40, 981–990 (2010). https://doi.org/10.2165/11535910-000000000-00000

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