Artificial Turf Study: Heavyweight Infill Systems Proven Safest for Football

Montreal, Canada, December 02, 2014 --(PR.com)-- The most recent ongoing safety study on synthetic turf confirms the importance of heavy infill weight as it relates to player injuries at the high school football level. This represents another major finding for quality artificial turf systems designed for player safety.

The prospective cohort study entitled ‘Incidence, Mechanisms, and Severity of Game-Related High School Football Injuries Across Artificial Turf Systems of Various Infill Weight – A Three-Year Study’, states that “as the artificial infill surface weight decreased, the incidence of game-related high school football trauma significantly increased across numerous playing conditions.”

The study focused on data gathered during competitive season and playoff games from 2010-2012 in the states of Pennsylvania, Montana, Southern California, and Texas. A total of 43 schools participated and all had full time ATC staff.

The infill weight study was presented at the 2014 annual American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) meeting and will continue for seasons to come. The FieldTurf sponsored research was led by Michael C. Meyers, PhD, FACSM in the Department of Sport Science and Physical Education, Idaho State University.

Findings of the longitudinal study show that the heaviest weighted infill systems outperformed the lighter weight infilled fields in the majority of injury categories.

Some of the key differences found are as follows (p/sq.ft = pounds per square foot):

Concussions Injuries Combined

15.7% lower incidence of injury between FieldTurf >9 p/sq.ft and 3-5.9 p/sq.ft of infill weight

Total Injuries

· 13.4% lower incidence of injury between FieldTurf >9 p/sq.ft and 3-5.9 p/sq.ft of infill weight

Severe Injuries

· 13.3% lower incidence of injury between FieldTurf >9 p/sq.ft and 3-5.9 p/sq.ft of infill weight

Player-to-Turf Collision

· 17.8% lower incidence of injury between FieldTurf >9 p/sq.ft and 3-5.9 p/sq.ft of infill weight

Adverse Weather Conditions Combined

· 22.0% lower incidence of injury between FieldTurf >9 p/sq.ft and 3-5.9 p/sq.ft of infill weight

Turf Age (8+ years)

· 20.2% lower incidence of injury between FieldTurf >9 p/sq.ft and 3-5.9 p/sq.ft of infill weight

· 41.0% lower incidence of injury between FieldTurf >9 p/sq.ft and 0-2.9 p/sq.ft of infill weight

Turf Age (4 to 8+ years)

· 19.2% lower incidence of injury between FieldTurf >9 p/sq.ft and 3-5.9 p/sq.ft of infill weight

Today's new generations of artificial turf systems are being installed to duplicate or exceed playing characteristics of natural grass. Rather than playing on the polyethylene turf fibers, player to surface interaction actually occurs between the individual and the various proprietary sand/rubber infill compositions of varying weight.

About FieldTurf

In the NFL, the Seattle Seahawks, New England Patriots, Atlanta Falcons, Detroit Lions, and Indianapolis Colts play their games on FieldTurf while 12 of the league’s teams currently practice on FieldTurf. Over 90 Division I Bowl Division and Championship Division schools have selected FieldTurf, including programs such as Notre Dame, Ohio State, Florida State, Louisville, Missouri, Oregon, Nebraska, Texas and Washington.

FieldTurf is part of Tarkett Sports, a Division of the Tarkett Group. Tarkett Sports is the largest entity in the sports and landscape surfacing industries. Included within the Tarkett Sports portfolio is an impressive range of performance sports flooring products. This product range includes: synthetic and hardwood basketball; volleyball and gymnasium flooring; squash and racquetball courts; floor protection and covering systems; weight room flooring; and high performance indoor and outdoor running tracks, featuring Beynon track surfaces.

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