Artificial grass is one of the most common things that we encounter in fields. But the choice of artificial grass is very important for carpet pitches especially. If the selected artificial grass is short, the grass will wear out very quickly. If the grass is too long, it will be affected by the weather conditions in the field. That’s why the choice of artificial grass is very important for players. But the choice is very important not only for the players but also for their health. They can get injured.
Nowadays football fields are safer thanks to the artificial grass used on the floors of the fields. However, injuries used to occur due to difficulties in artificial grass floors. The absorbent feature in artificial grass was not present, but now artificial grass differs according to its quality. While redness and injuries used to occur due to friction, artificial grass is made softer day by day and is produced like natural grass. Artificial grass manufacturers study on this subject to present the players with much better field that will not harm the player and they try to do their best against these injuries.
Artificial Grass and Injuries
The ground of many sports branches such as football, American football, rugby, field hockey, which is widely played in the world, is made of grass. In these floors natural grass or artificial grass can be used. But whether artificial grass prevents injuries or not is an argumentative subject for many years. Artificial grass has been used on the ground of sports fields since 1960. Since then, the relationship between grass and injury has been continually studied.
Some of the studies examining the relationship between new technology artificial grass and injury have reported positive results and some negative results. But there is not any certain result. Because the risk factors for injury outside the field floor are very high and studies have not been fully standardized and these factors cannot be excluded. Because there are many elements while playing a game. While clarifying the relation between grass and injuries, the studies generally compare artificial grass and natural grass. Below there are the results about injuries that have been achieved even if they haven’t been proved.
- When all sports injuries are considered collectively, the risk of general injury in training and competitions with artificial grass is not high compared to natural grass.
- Considering the injury types one by one, there are remarkable results.
- There is a general opinion that the risk of ankle sprain is high in artificial grass.
- Anterior cross injuries are more common in natural grass.
- From the point of view of muscle injuries, artificial grass has an injury-reducing (protective) effect.
- In terms of overuse injuries, although the risk of injury in artificial grass is not higher than natural turf, it is stated that as the training hours on artificial grass increase, there may be an increase in back pain.
- There is no difference between training or competitions in terms of both types of grass.
- It is stated that the risk of injury will be less if training or competitions are held on artificial grass regularly. In other words, a football player accustomed to natural grass should not enter the competitions on artificial grass immediately without undergoing a certain adaptation process.
- Researchers recommend that football players train on this ground at least 5-6 times to get used to the new ground.
In another study conducted in the professional football league in England and Northern Europe, the risk of injury was found to be high at the beginning of the season, but it was shown that the risk of injury decreased steadily as the season progressed. Artificial grass and natural grass is frequently compared; While there was no difference at the beginning of the season, the frequency of injury was found to be higher in artificial grass towards the end of the season. This is explained by the fact that the natural grass becomes softer as the season progresses with weather conditions. There are fewer injuries on muddy and wet surfaces than on dry surfaces. There was no difference in the frequency of injuries during the season in matches played in indoor halls. This observation can be attributed to the fact that the ground is not affected much by weather conditions. It has been shown that the frequency of fractures due to the hard ground in the first months of the season is higher than in other months
The thing that the player must do to reduce the frequency of injury is to identify risk factors and take necessary precautions. Reducing the shoe-surface grip, irrigated and soft grounds, natural grass on grass grounds, and using short nails in shoes are the basic precautions that can be taken. Athletes and trainers, as well as field managers, should be informed about these measures. However, there is no clear cause of injury. The stated results are presented by estimation and observation.
Considering all these studies, it can be said that as a result, it is not the type of floor that causes injury to players, but rather the way players play on unfamiliar ground. Another reason can be weather conditions, mud, rain etc. Or the fact that the floor is not made by a competent institution may also lead to injuries. Because many things need to be taken into account when constructing artificial grass and all these factors can be related injuries to occur.
Athletes Are Always Safe Thanks to Integral Spor!
Integral Spor, working with its customers from the beginning to the end of the process and one of the leader artificial grass manufacturers, firstly examines the floor and then makes a plan according to the customer’s budget and preference. Get fast results with our experienced teams who have successfully completed the construction of dozens of FIFA certified artificial grass fields in the country and abroad! Meet our very fast services as we are both an artificial grass manufacturer and an implementing company! You may also get further information about artificial grass cost by contacting us. Please be sure that as Integral Spor family, we will make price adjustment about artificial grass cost by considering your preferences and budget.
