Background: The purpose of this study was to describe professional soccer players� perceptions towards injuries,\nphysical recovery and the effect of surface related factors on injury resulting from soccer participation on 3rd\ngeneration artificial turf (FT) compared to natural grass (NG).\nMethods: Information was collected through a questionnaire that was completed by 99 professional soccer players\nfrom 6 teams competing in Major League Soccer (MLS) during the 2011 season.\nResults: The majority (93% and 95%) of the players reported that playing surface type and quality influenced the\nrisk of sustaining an injury. Players believed that playing and training on FT increased the risk of sustaining a\nnon-contact injury as opposed to a contact injury. The players identified three surface related risk factors on FT,\nwhich they related to injuries and greater recovery times: 1) Greater surface stiffness 2) Greater surface friction 3)\nLarger metabolic cost to playing on artificial grounds. Overall, 94% of the players chose FT as the surface most likely\nto increase the risk of sustaining an injury.\nConclusions: Players believe that the risk of injury differs according to surface type, and that FT is associated with\nan increased risk of non-contact injury. Future studies should be designed prospectively to systematically track the\nperceptions of groups of professional players training and competing on FT and NG.
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