pitches in relation to fatigue and ankle dynamics”
FIFA research findings
quality natural turf and FIFA certified Football Turf
“There are no significant differences between high
More damping?
Despite FIFA claiming that the quality of artificial grass is similar to that of a natural grass field in a pristine condition at the best time of the year, the surface is less forgiving than natural grass. “Artificial grass doesn’t tear when you plant your studs in the surface and want to run off,” Van de Veen points out. “The tension and pressure this places on the ligaments is another cause for complaints and injuries.” According to Dr Jan Ekstrand, the inability of artificial grass to handle tension at an angle is something FIFA has to investigate. Ekstrand has been involved in
researching the surface on behalf of UEFA since early 2000. “The FIFA
quality standards do have a benchmark for shock absorption, but this is measured vertically, whereby the testing equipment stands on a field at a 90 degree angle. Yet, no player interacts with a field completely vertically. There is always an angle.” According to Ekstrand, the trend to install a shockpad underneath a field that has recently entered the market is something that could contribute to the reduction of possible injuries on muscles and ligaments. “These shockpads tend to divert the energy that is exercised on the field in a horizontal direction. Because the energy now moves horizontally, a field will have less vibration, which is actually the cause of many injuries, as
these vibrations go into the soft tissue of a body and make muscles and ligaments react. And, as the leg is in an angle, possible vibration will not make it all the way to the muscles and ligaments in the first place.” But, where the FIFA quality criteria do have a benchmark for shock absorption, testing criteria for this vibration, better known as ‘energy restitution’, is no longer part of the testing criteria. “Some countries did have quality criteria for energy restitution several years ago, but this has fallen away since their national standards were harmonised with those of FIFA. There are, however, talks to have criteria for shock absorption re- introduced.”
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