Perceived Links Between Playing Surfaces and Injury: a Worldwide Study of Elite Association Football Players

Abstract

BackgroundInjuries in association football (soccer) are debilitating for players and can also be detrimental to the success of a team or club. The type or condition of a playing surface has been empirically linked to injuries, yet results are inconclusive. The overall purpose of this study was to analyse elite football players’ perceived links between playing surfaces and injury from a worldwide cohort of players. The results of this study can help to inform areas for future playing surface research aimed at trying to alleviate user concerns and meet user (i.e. the player) needs.MethodsQuantitative data were collected from 1129 players across the globe to address the aim of this study.ResultsNinety-one percent of players believed the type or condition of a surface could increase injury risk. Abrasive injuries, along with soreness and pain, were perceived to be greater on artificial turf. Surface type, surface properties and age were all potential risk factors identified by the players and linked to the playing surfaces.ConclusionsThe results identified three areas where future research should be focussed to help develop surfaces that alleviate user concerns and meet user (i.e. player) needs: (i) current reporting of soreness, pain or fatigue as injuries, (ii) contribution of surface properties to injury; and (iii) surface experience of players from different countries differentiates their views of injury risk.

Six different football shoes, one playing surface and the weather; Assessing variation in shoe-surface traction over one season of elite football

“…Players deem optimal performance and/or risk of lower extremity injury to be intrinsically related to certain playing surface characteristics. Ninety-one percent of players from a worldwide cohort of elite footballers (n = 1129) think the type or condition of a playing surface increases the likelihood of injury with excessive hardness and traction ranked high on the list of concerns [30].…”

Injuries in Netball-A Systematic Review

“…Indoor competitions mostly play on synthetic surfaces over concrete bases, again possibly affecting the pattern of injury and frequency. Playing surface has been shown to influence injury rates in netball [3] and other sports [69][70][71]. Although concrete playing surfaces may be a risk factor for injury in netball [3,16], data on playing surfaces were limited in the studies in this review and so the impact of playing surface type on injury incidence needs further investigation.…”

A review of turfgrass sports field variability and its implications on athlete–surface interactions

“…Research addressing psychological aspects of athlete–surface interactions on turfgrass sports fields is needed. The unpredictability of highly variable natural turfgrass fields influence athletes’ perceptions between field types and within individual fields (Mears, Osei‐Owusu, Harland, Owen, & Roberts, 2018; Straw et al., 2019). As a result, perceived risk of injury and behavioral factors, such as aggressiveness or tentativeness, may be affected, which likely contributes negatively to overall athlete performance and injury occurrence (Gnacinski, Arvinen‐Barrow, Brewer, & Meyer, 2017; Mears et al., 2018; Straw et al., 2019; Wiese‐Bjornstal, Smith, Shaffer, & Morrey, 1998).…”

“…The unpredictability of highly variable natural turfgrass fields influence athletes’ perceptions between field types and within individual fields (Mears, Osei‐Owusu, Harland, Owen, & Roberts, 2018; Straw et al., 2019). As a result, perceived risk of injury and behavioral factors, such as aggressiveness or tentativeness, may be affected, which likely contributes negatively to overall athlete performance and injury occurrence (Gnacinski, Arvinen‐Barrow, Brewer, & Meyer, 2017; Mears et al., 2018; Straw et al., 2019; Wiese‐Bjornstal, Smith, Shaffer, & Morrey, 1998). Including field conditions into psychological assessments of individual athletes, such as Wiese‐Bjornstal's (2010) biopsychosocial sport injury risk profile, could be useful for creating practical intervention strategies to improve athletes’ perceptions and confidence with certain turfgrass sports field conditions.…”