1. When it comes to artificial turf, there’s
a simple, but firm analysis related to
injuries that Idaho State University
researcher Michael Meyers has docu-
mented: the greater the weight of the
infill used with artificial turf, the fewer
the injuries.
Conversely, greater numbers of injuries
are associated with artificial turf with
lesser weights of infill.
“What we found out it is that it is
shockingly linear, that as the infill
weight goes down, the injuries just ac-
celerate,” Meyers said.
Meyers, an associate professor in ISU’s
Department of Sport Science and Phys-
ical Education in the College of Educa-
tion, studied the turf at 52 high schools
participating across four states (Texas,
California, Pennsylvania and Montana)
analyzing injuries over five seasons
from 2010 to 2014.
His study published this summer
earned Meyers the first annual STOP
(Stop Sports Trauma and Overuse
Prevention) Sports Injuries Award from
the American Orthopaedic Society for
Sports Medicine. This award recognizes
top research leading toward significant
awareness and change in the prevention
of traumatic and overuse injuries in
youth sports.
Results of Meyer’s study, which was
the first to directly compare football
injuries as they relate to infill weight,
were picked up by media outlets world-
wide, from Reuters to United Press Inter-
national, and by a wide variety specialty
publications and websites.
“I even received a call from
India, from someone who wanted to do
a story on the turf,” Meyers said.
Synthetic turf infill is generally sand,
small rubber particles or mixture of each
that are placed between the blades of
grass. Meyers study divided turf into
four infill categories, based on pound
per square foot of infill, 9 pounds or
greater, 6 to 8.9 pounds, 3 to 5.9 pounds
and less than 3 pounds.
The total number of injuries and the
number of minor, substantial and severe
injuries was significantly less in the turf
with greater than 9 pounds of infill,
compared to the other categories. For
example there were about 33 percent
less total injuries on turf with more
than 9 pounds compared to the 6 to 8.9
pound category, and the greater-than-
9-pound category had about 46 percent
fewer overall injuries compared to the 3
to 5.9 category.
Meyers concluded his study recom-
mending that artificial football fields
contain a minimum infill weight of
6 pounds per square foot. This dou-
ble-blind study looked at 485 variables
and 52 categories of injury surveillance.
Meyers noted these conclusions war-
rant further investigation, and cannot be
generalized to other levels of competi-
tion beyond those included in the study.
This study continues to be ongoing, and
Meyers is continuing to collect data.
The full title of Meyers’ study was
“Incidence, Mechanisms, and Severity
of Game-Related High School Football
Injuries across Artificial Turf Systems
of Various Infill Weight” and it was
published in the Orthopaedic Journal of
Sports Medicine. The study was partially
funded by FieldTurf.
IdahoStateUniversitySportsScienceProfessorMichaelMeyers
DocumentsLinkBetweenInjuriesandInfillWeightofArtificialTurf
Pocatello | Idaho Falls Meridian | Twin Falls