Quote:
Originally Posted by Chief Pagan
So is this because the surface is harder when a player lands on it?
Or because the surface provides a better grip for footwear and instead of the foot losing grip a knee blows out?
Or both?
I've always wondered whether on indoor artificial turf fields if you restricted the sort of cleats players could wear, so that at some point their foot would slip instead of their knee blowing out, would that improve player safety?
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Both. The harder surface invites more injuries when players fall/land on it, especially when another player is draped over another when they hit the ground, or if player 1 throws player 2 to the ground.
The faster surface doesn't give, so when a player cuts, pretty much all the torque concentrates in the ankle/knee or particularly when a defender grabs a ball-carrier and adds their momentum/weight to those joints, and eventually the soft tissues have to tear.