NFL Panel Finds Injuries More Likely On FieldTurf

[macro]

Is this going to be the Astroturf era all over again?


Updated: March 12, 2010, 12:51 AM ET

Panel: Knee, ankle injury higher on turf

Associated Press

NEW YORK -- An NFL panel found that certain serious knee and ankle injuries happen more often in games played on the most popular brand of artificial turf than on grass.

The league's Injury and Safety Panel is presenting its study Friday at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons in New Orleans.

The report examined the 2002-08 NFL seasons, comparing games played on grass to those on FieldTurf. It found that the rate of anterior cruciate ligament injuries was 88 percent higher in FieldTurf games -- a conclusion the manufacturer of the synthetic field hotly disputes.

Complete Article: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4988136

[Redsfaithful]

Interesting, this would have pretty far reaching effects since a lot of HS and college football is now played on FieldTurf, AstroTurf wasn't as wide spread.

[Caveat Emperor]

To this day, it amazes me that the Bengals were able to spend years whining about needing a natural grass playing surface instead of the AstroTurf at Riverfront, got the taxpayers to pay for a natural grass field and new facility, and then promptly installed fake stuff at the first available opportunity.

[GIDP]

To this day, it amazes me that the Bengals were able to spend years whining about needing a natural grass playing surface instead of the AstroTurf at Riverfront, got the taxpayers to pay for a natural grass field and new facility, and then promptly installed fake stuff at the first available opportunity.

They installed the fake stuff because fans complained so much about how terrible the regular stuff was from what I remember.

[joshnky]

They installed the fake stuff because fans complained so much about how terrible the regular stuff was from what I remember.

Wasn't the grass field one of the worst in the league? I seem to remember similar problems to those that Pittsburgh has at the end of each season. Although, it was still better than Astroturf.

[jimbo]

They installed the fake stuff because fans complained so much about how terrible the regular stuff was from what I remember.

Then maybe whoever was in charge of maintaining the field should have been held more accountable. Other stadiums have no problem maintaining a grass field, no reason why Cincinnati couldn't.

Personally, I'd rather watch a football game in the mud as opposed to any kind of artificial turf.

[bucksfan2]

Wasn't the grass field one of the worst in the league? I seem to remember similar problems to those that Pittsburgh has at the end of each season. Although, it was still better than Astroturf.

The Bengals planted the wrong grass at the wrong time. The first year at PBS the field was an utter disaster, I remember watching a game towards the end of the season where they were playing on sand it looked like. I don't remember if they reseeded the next year but it wasn't too long afterwards that they switched to field turf.

I like natural grass much better than field turf. I was upset when OSU replaced their grass with turf. I think grass looks more like football and is the ideal playing surface. That said with the cost benefits and the likeness to natural grass I can see why field turf is taking over.

[Yachtzee]

The Bengals made the mistake of hiring someone who thought it would be a great idea to plant grass on top of sand. By the time they realized it was probably going to require completely removing the sandy soil and replacing it with something more substantial, the NFL had already pressured them to switch to Field Turf. Of course, the fields in Pittsburgh and Cleveland get just as bad, if not worse, than the field in Cincinnati did. Heinz Field is regularly listed as the worst field to play on in the NFL. But for some reason, the NFL doesn't feel the need to pressure those teams into getting Field Turf.

I'd like to see a breakdown on grass fields to see if these numbers hold up when comparing Field Turf to grass in cities with particularly cold and wet fall weather.