Honors Thesis Archive

AuthorTerrance Smith
TitleFoot and Ankle Injuries: Artificial Turf vs. Natural grass
DepartmentBiology
AdvisorsDr. Richard Phillips, Mr. Greg Schneider, and Dr. Cathy Pederson
Year2016
HonorsUniversity Honors
Full TextView Thesis (116 KB)
AbstractThe advent of third-generation artificial turf in the 1990s has sparked much controversy over an increased risk of injury associated with synthetic surfaces. Some studies suggest no statistically significant difference in injury incidences between artificial turf and natural grass, whereas other studies have found increased risk of non-contact injury to the ACL in the knee. Studies have noted significant biomechanical differences between cleat interactions with artificial turf and natural grass; however, none have looked solely at the risk associated with foot and ankle injuries. This study analyzes 60 foot/ankle injuries documented by the Wittenberg University Athletic Training Department over the course of three years for differences in frequency and chance of injury across 3 male and 3 female field-related sports. Frequency of total foot/ankle injuries was no different between artificial turf and natural grass, as wells as between genders across all surfaces. Natural grass was noted to have a higher frequency of male foot/ankle injuries than females (χ2df=1=4.55, P=0.03). Field surface type does not have an effect on foot/ankle injury frequency.

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