Table 2 Characteristics of acute injuries incurred during matches.
| Grass | Artificial turf | Artificial turf vs grass | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Injuries | Incidence n/1000 h of exposure (95% CI) | Injuries | Incidence n/1000 h of exposure (95% CI) | Rate ratio (95% CI)† | |
| Total | 230 | 8.3 (7.2 to 9.4) | 82 | 8.7 (6.8 to 10.6) | 1.0 (0.8 to 1.3) |
| Injury type | |||||
| Contusion | 74 | 2.7 (2.1 to 3.3) | 22 | 2.3 (1.4 to 3.3) | 0.9 (0.5 to 1.4) |
| Sprain | 91 | 3.3 (2.6 to 4.0) | 43 | 4.6 (3.2 to 5.9) | 1.4 (1.0 to 2.0) |
| Strain | 41 | 1.5 (1.0 to 1.9) | 6 | 0.6 (0.1 to 1.1) | 0.4 (0.2 to 1.1) |
| Other | 24 | 0.9 (0.5 to 1.2) | 11 | 1.2 (0.5 to 1.9) | 1.3 (0.7 to 2.7) |
| Re‐injuries | 38 | 1.4 (0.9 to 1.8) | 20 | 2.1 (1.2 to 3.1) | 1.5 (0.9 to 2.7) |
| Ankle sprains | 22 | 0.8 (0.5 to 1.1) | 14 | 1.5 (0.7 to 2.3) | 1.9 (1.0 to 3.7) |
| Body location | |||||
| Upper body | 43 | 1.6 (1.1 to 2.0) | 12 | 1.3 (0.6 to 2.0) | 0.8 (0.4 to 1.6) |
| Lower body | 187 | 6.8 (5.8 to 7.7) | 70 | 7.4 (5.7 to 9.2) | 1.1 (0.8 to 1.4) |
| Groin | 8 | 0.3 (0.1 to 0.5) | 1 | 0.1 (−0.1 to 0.3) | 0.4 (0 to 2.9) |
| Thigh | 32 | 1.2 (0.8 to 1.6) | 7 | 0.7 (0.2 to 1.3) | 0.6 (0.3 to 1.5) |
| Knee | 31 | 1.1 (0.7 to 1.5) | 18 | 1.9 (1.0 to 2.8) | 1.7 (1.0 to 3.1) |
| Ankle | 82 | 3.0 (2.3 to 3.6) | 38 | 4.0 (2.8 to 5.3) | 1.4 (0.9 to 2.0) |
| Other | 34 | 1.2 (0.8 to 1.6) | 6 | 0.6 (0.1 to 1.1) | 0.5 (0.2 to 1.2) |
| Time loss (days) | |||||
| 1–7 | 111 | 4.0 (3.3 to 4.8) | 25 | 2.7 (1.6 to 3.7) | 0.7 (0.4 to 1.0) |
| 8–21 | 73 | 2.6 (2.0 to 3.2) | 26 | 2.8 (1.7 to 3.8) | 1.0 (0.7 to 1.6) |
| >21 | 46 | 1.7 (1.2 to 2.1) | 31 | 3.3 (2.1 to 4.5) | 2.0 (1.3 to 3.1)* |
*p<0.05.
†Rate ratios between injuries on grass and artificial turf, with grass as the reference group. Subcategories for injuries on gravel and indoor floors are not shown separately because of small numbers.