Not sure how many of them were on Artificial Turf but for the record I hate that ****!
Artificial Turf is a pretty generic term. AstroTurf was Artificial Turf — as is Field Turf. They are definitely not the same thing (having played on both).
AstroTurf was widely used when cities used multi-purpose stadiums (Three Rivers) where grass wasn’t possible and it had to be lifted/removed to move seating to accommodate use for events. This resulted in having highly visible seams that could easily be tripped over. As a surface was best described as concrete painted green. While the top layer allowed for greater traction — it also had the unintended consequence of that traction resulting in injury.
Field Turf is far more pliable—from different manufactures with different quality/grade — and as a result different cost. Think back to 6th grade biology (Kids Prefer Cheese Over Fried Green Spinach—acronym for animal classification). With a rubber infill, it provides significantly more cushion than AstroTurf.
Field Turf is is meant to replicate grass with an infill of sand & cryogenic rubber to provide cushion & drainage. It looks and feels like natural grass — without the cost of maintenance. NFL Stadiums do not have a uniform standard of quality or grade as it pertains to Field Turf — see this weeks complaints with the Turf of Met Life stadium in New York (the $1.6 Billion stadium that installed new Field Turf this year—no clue why they would spend so much on stadium & cut corners for the playing surface).
Most data generally shown shows greater risk of injuries on synthetic vs. Natural Grass regarding ACL & sprains—but it only compares (all) synthetic vs. natural surfaces. It doesn’t break it down by brand/quality/grade.
Hence that data imprecise.
As a (well) “former” athlete— and one who knew a bit about performance enhancing from running 2 gyms in my life — you’re only fooling yourself if you (speaking generally) believe these guys are so big/fast due to enhanced nutrition & training only. Many of these injuries are directly a result of muscles too big/strong for ligaments to handle.
I have zero problem with Field Turf. But I wouldn’t go cheap on it, nor would I authorize purchase of first iteration of a new upgrade. I’d want to see how it stands up to testing since I don’t trust quality control of companies rushing products to market.
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