Comparison of injury rates between clubs with artificial turf and clubs with natural grass at their home venue
| Surface at home venue | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Artificial turf | Natural grass | ||||
| N | Injury rate (95% CI) | N | Injury rate (95% CI) | Rate ratio (99% CI) | |
| Total season | |||||
| Acute training injury | 213 | 2.5 (2.2 to 2.9) | 355 | 1.0 (1.7 to 2.1) | 1.31 (1.04 to 1.63) |
| Acute match injury | 292 | 17.9 (15.9 to 20.0) | 493 | 15.1 (13.9 to 16.5) | 1.18 (0.98 to 1.43) |
| Overuse injury | 326 | 3.2 (2.9 to 3.6) | 508 | 2.3 (2.1 to 2.6) | 1.38 (1.14 to 1.65) |
| Pre-season* | |||||
| Acute training injury | 84 | 3.3 (2.6 to 4.0) | 132 | 2.3 (2.0 to 2.8) | 1.40 (0.98 to 2.01) |
| Acute match injury | 54 | 15.5 (11.8 to 20.2) | 117 | 16.5 (13.8 to 19.8) | 0.94 (0.61 to 1.43) |
| Competitive season† | |||||
| Acute training injury | 129 | 2.2 (1.8 to 2.6) | 223 | 1.7 (1.5 to 2.0) | 1.25 (0.94 to 1.67) |
| Acute match injury | 238 | 18.5 (16.3 to 21.0) | 376 | 14.8 (13.3 to 16.3) | 1.25 (1.01 to 1.55) |
| Injury severity | |||||
| Slight | 20 | 0.2 (0.1 to 0.3) | 23 | 0.1 (0.07 to 0.2) | 1.87 (0.85 to 4.10) |
| Minimal | 193 | 1.9 (1.7 to 2.2) | 277 | 1.3 (1.1 to 1.4) | 1.50 (1.17 to 1.90) |
| Mild | 211 | 2.1 (1.8 to 2.4) | 306 | 1.4 (1.3 to 1.6) | 1.48 (1.18 to 1.96) |
| Moderate | 270 | 2.7 (2.4 to 3.0) | 492 | 2.3 (2.1 to 2.5) | 1.18 (0.97 to 1.43) |
| Severe | 137 | 1.4 (1.1 to 1.6) | 254 | 1.2 (1.0 to 1.3) | 1.16 (0.88 to 1.52) |
| Injury type | |||||
| Fractures/bone stress | 31 | 0.3 (0.2 to 0.4) | 59 | 0.3 (0.2 to 0.4) | 1.13 (0.64 to 2.00) |
| Joint/ligament | 185 | 1.8 (1.6 to 2.1) | 369 | 1.7 (1.5 to 1.9) | 1.08 (0.85 to 1.36) |
| Muscle/tendon | 393 | 3.9 (3.5 to 4.3) | 631 | 2.9 (2.7 to 3.1) | 1.34 (1.13 to 1.58) |
| Contusions | 141 | 1.4 (1.2 to 1.6) | 148 | 0.7 (0.6 to 0.8) | 2.04 (1.51 to 2.77) |
| Lacerations/skin lesion | 7 | 0.07 (0.03 to 0.15) | 11 | 0.05 (0.03 to 0.09) | 1.37 (0.39 to 4.74) |
| CNS and PNS | 19 | 0.2 (0.1 to 0.3) | 37 | 0.2 (0.1 to 0.2) | 1.10 (0.53 to 2.28) |
| Other | 54 | 0.5 (0.4 to 0.7) | 101 | 0.5 (0.4 to 0.6) | 1.15 (0.74 to 1.77) |
| Overuse injury location‡ | |||||
| Hip/adductors | 75 | 0.7 (0.6 to 0.9) | 102 | 0.5 (0.4 to 0.6) | 1.58 (1.07 to 2.34) |
| Hamstrings | 28 | 0.3 (0.2 to 0.4) | 48 | 0.2 (0.2 to 0.3) | 1.25 (0.68 to 2.31) |
| Calf | 18 | 0.2 (0.1 to 0.3) | 9 | 0.04 (0.02 to 0.08) | 4.29 (1.50 to 12.28) |
| Patellar tendon | 13 | 0.1 (0.07 to 0.2) | 18 | 0.08 (0.05 to 0.1) | 1.55 (0.61 to 3.96) |
| Lower back | 13 | 0.1 (0.07 to 0.2) | 20 | 0.09 (0.06 to 0.1) | 1.40 (0.56 to 3.49) |
| Achilles tendon | 8 | 0.08 (0.04 to 0.2) | 24 | 0.1 (0.07 to 0.2) | 0.72 (0.25 to 2.05) |
| Knee (excluding tendons) | 8 | 0.08 (0.04 to 0.2) | 23 | 0.1 (0.07 to 0.2) | 0.75 (0.26 to 2.15) |
| Quadriceps | 8 | 0.08 (0.04 to 0.2) | 12 | 0.06 (0.03 to 0.1) | 1.43 (0.44 to 4.46) |
| Iliotibial band of the knee | 6 | 0.06 (0.03 to 0.1) | 6 | 0.03 (0.01 to 0.06) | 2.15 (0.49 to 9.49) |
Injury rate is expressed as the number of injuries/1000 h. Natural grass clubs are used as the reference group.
*January–March.
†April–November.
‡Most common overuse injury locations.
CNS, central nervous system; PNS, peripheral nervous system.