The NFL Players Association has pushed for natural grass surfaces for years. The union says injury data shows a higher risk of non-contact injuries on artificial turf compared with natural grass.
Based on NFL injury data collected from 2012 to 2018, not only was the contact injury rate for lower extremities higher during practices and games held on artificial turf, NFL players consistently experienced a much higher rate of non-contact lower extremity injury.
Dr. John Gallucci Jr., CEO of JAG Physical Therapy and known to many as Dr. JAG, offered a different read on the available evidence. He argued that in a collision sport like the NFL, injuries are inevitable, and current research may not clearly tie non-contact injuries to turf over grass.
When you jump into the NFL, at the end of the day you are playing a collision sport, there's going to be injury. Can you blame non-contact injuries more on field turf vs. grass? Unfortunately and currently, the research and evidence doesn't show it.
Off the pitch, Nashville SC is hosting a Team USA watch party Friday at 1 p.m. at Centennial Park for the United States' match against Australia.
