2 years ago
170
An investigation of antithetic outdoor playing surfaces suggests that falls connected artificial turf whitethorn airs a greater concussion hazard than earthy grass
Health 7 October 2022Artificial turf is simply a harder playing aboveground than earthy grass, which tin summation wounded risk Thomas Farlow / Alamy Stock Photo
Athletes playing connected synthetic writer surfaces whitethorn beryllium astatine higher hazard for concussion than those playing connected earthy grass.
Among precocious schoolhouse athletes successful the US, about 20 per cent of concussions effect from the idiosyncratic hitting their caput connected the playing surface.
Artificial turf is becoming progressively fashionable crossed the country: it is estimated that determination are presently much than 16,000 synthetic writer fields successful the US, and arsenic galore arsenic 1500 caller ones being built each year.
Several studies person shown that ankle and genu injuries are much communal connected harder synthetic playing fields compared to grass, some among professional athletes and amateur players. Yet Ian Chun astatine the University of Hawaii says determination isn’t “very overmuch accusation connected antithetic rates of concussions owed to tract hardness”.
Chun conducted a bid of experiments successful which helium dropped a 20-kilogram mannequin onto 10 earthy writer playing fields and 9 artificial turf surfaces. Chun placed accelerometers onto the close ear, apical of the caput and forehead of the mannequin, earlier fitting it with an American shot helmet. He past dropped it disconnected a array from a tallness of 170 centimetres – chosen to simulate the tallness of a teen jock – with the mannequin landing either connected its near side, beforehand oregon backmost and measured the impact.
After 1710 full drops, Chun recovered that interaction deceleration – a measurement of however abruptly thing successful question is brought to a halt – was importantly higher connected synthetic playing fields successful each 3 falling positions. Depending connected driblet position, deceleration measured successful g-forces was arsenic overmuch arsenic 23 g higher connected artificial writer compared to earthy surfaces. Previous probe has shown that an interaction of 40 g or higher increases the accidental for concussion, but immoderate radical tin prolong a concussion astatine little forces.
“Our survey suggests that synthetic fields are a harder playing surface. This translates to a theoretical accrued hazard of concussion owed to interaction with playing surfaces,” says Chun, who is presenting this enactment connected 8 October astatine the American Academy of Pediatrics Conference and Exhibition in California.
Sudden deceleration of the encephalon wrong the skull is known to beryllium a origin of concussion. “I deliberation aboriginal probe successful observing existent rates of concussions successful antithetic playing fields and environments would beryllium an absorbing follow-up survey and solidify the nexus betwixt harder playing surfaces and concussion risks,” says Chun.
Kristen Dams-O’Connor astatine at the Icahn School of Medicine astatine Mount Sinai successful New York says that these findings constituent to a imaginable mode that we could trim wounded risk. “We’re astatine this precise absorbing crossroads present wherever grounds has accumulated that adjacent successful the lack of a concussion, determination is hazard to encephalon wellness successful interaction sports,” she says.
Dams-O’Connor says she’d similar to spot further enactment confirming the results and conducting akin tests of different playing surfaces. “We should beryllium considering each imaginable avenue to marque sports safer,” she says.
More connected these topics:
English (US) ·