Document Type
Article
Publication Date
8-29-2024
Abstract
BACKGROUND: It has been argued that the use of artificial turf football fields in the National Football League (NFL) increases player injury risk compared with natural grass surfaces.
PURPOSE/HYPOTHESIS: The purpose of this study was to quantify the rate of lower extremity injuries occurring in NFL players on artificial turf compared with natural grass surfaces and characterize the time missed due to injury and proportion of injuries requiring surgery. It was hypothesized that lower extremity injuries requiring surgical intervention would occur at a higher rate on artificial turf than on natural grass.
STUDY DESIGN: Descriptive epidemiology study.
METHODS: Lower extremity injury data for the 2021 and 2022 NFL seasons were obtained using publicly available records. Data collected included injury type, player position, player age, playing surface, weeks missed due to injury, and whether the patient underwent season-ending or minor surgery. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to determine the risk of season-ending surgery according to playing surface.
RESULTS: When combining injuries for the 2021 and 2022 seasons (N = 718 injuries), the incidence rate of lower extremity injury was 1.22 injuries/game for natural grass and 1.42 injuries/game for artificial turf. The odds of a season-ending surgery were found to be significantly higher on artificial turf compared with natural grass (odds ratio = 1.60; 95% CI, 1.28-1.99;
CONCLUSION: The 2021 and 2022 NFL seasons of our analysis demonstrated a higher incidence rate of injuries on artificial turf surfaces compared with natural grass surfaces. In addition, the odds of injury requiring season-ending surgery were found to be significantly higher on artificial turf compared with natural grass.
Recommended Citation
Venishetty, Nikit; Xiao, Angel X; Ghanta, Ramesh; Reddy, Rohit; Pandya, Nirav Kiritkumar; and Feeley, Brian T, "Lower Extremity Injury Rates on Artificial Turf Versus Natural Grass Surfaces in the National Football League During the 2021 and 2022 Seasons" (2024). SKMC Student Presentations and Publications. Paper 16.
https://jdc.jefferson.edu/skmcstudentworks/16
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Language
English
Comments
This article is the author's final published version in Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine, Volume 12, Issue 8, August 2024.
The published version is available at https://doi.org/10.1177/23259671241265378
Copyright © The Author(s) 2024