TY - JOUR T1 - Risk of injury on artificial turf and natural grass in young female football players JF - British Journal of Sports Medicine JO - Br J Sports Med SP - i33 LP - i37 DO - 10.1136/bjsm.2007.036665 VL - 41 IS - suppl 1 AU - Kathrin Steffen AU - Thor Einar Andersen AU - Roald Bahr Y1 - 2007/08/01 UR - http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/41/suppl_1/i33.abstract N2 - Background: Artificial turf is becoming increasingly popular, although the risk of injury on newer generations of turf is unknown. Aim: To investigate the risk of injury on artificial turf compared with natural grass among young female football players. Study design: Prospective cohort study. Methods: 2020 players from 109 teams (mean (SD) 15.4 (0.8) years) participated in the study during the 2005 football season. Time-loss injuries and exposure data on different types of turf were recorded over an eight-month period. Results: 421 (21%) players sustained 526 injuries, leading to an injury incidence of 3.7/1000 playing hours (95% CI 3.4 to 4.0). The incidence of acute injuries on artificial turf and grass did not differ significantly with respect to match injuries (rate ratio (RR) 1.0, 95% CI 0.8 to 1.3; p = 0.72) or training injuries (RR 1.0, 95% CI 0.6 to 1.5, p = 0.93). In matches, the incidence of serious injuries was significantly higher on artificial turf (RR 2.0, 95% CI 1.3 to 3.2; p = 0.03). Ankle sprain was the most common type of injury (34% of all acute injuries), and there was a trend towards more ankle sprains on artificial turf than on grass (RR 1.5, 95% CI 1.0 to 2.2; p = 0.06). Conclusion: In the present study among young female football players, the overall risk of acute injuries was similar between artificial turf and natural grass. ER -