RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 The effect of field condition and shoe type on lower extremity injuries in American Football
JF British Journal of Sports Medicine
JO Br J Sports Med
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine
SP 789
OP 793
DO 10.1136/bjsports-2012-092113
VO 47
IS 12
A1 Jaclyn Nicole Iacovelli
A1 Jingzhen Yang
A1 Geb Thomas
A1 Hongqian Wu
A1 Trisha Schiltz
A1 Danny T Foster
YR 2013
UL http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/47/12/789.abstract
AB Background/aim Considerable improvement has been made in football field surfaces and types of shoe, yet relatively few epidemiological studies have investigated their roles in the risk of football injuries. This study examined the effects of field surface, surface condition and shoe type on the likelihood of lower extremity football injuries. Methods Deidentified data from 188 players from one division I university football team during the 2007–2010 seasons were analysed. Lower extremity injury rate and rate ratio, along with 95% confidence limits, were calculated by football activity, playing surface condition and shoe type. Results A total of 130 lower extremity injuries were sustained, with an overall lower extremity injury rate of 33.5/10 000 athlete-sessions. The lower extremity injury rate was 2.61 times higher when the surface condition was abnormal compared with when the surface condition was normal. During games, the risk for lower extremity injury was 3.34 times higher (95% CI 1.70 to 6.56) on artificial turf compared with natural grass. However, this trend was not statistically significant in practice sessions. Furthermore, neither the number of shoe cleats nor the height of the shoe top was statistically associated with risk of lower extremity injuries. Conclusions Football players who played on artificial turf or when the surface condition was abnormal were susceptible to lower extremity injuries. Evidence from this study suggests that further research into playing surfaces and shoe types may provide fruitful opportunities to reduce injuries to collegiate football players.