[CBFF] NFL panel finds some injuries more common on turf - NFL- nbcsports.msnbc.com

Sat Mar 13 18:58:53 MST 2010

Well that's the problem, isn't it?  The Park Service, or whatever they're
called, has the ulterior motive of making a profit.  If they could book SF
every night of the summer and still keep the sod in acceptable (to them)
condition, they would.  There really is a conflict of interest when it come
to their ownership of SF and their interests in keeping the Bears a happy
tenant there.... unless I'm missing something.

-Behr

On Sat, Mar 13, 2010 at 4:32 PM, Phil DeNomme <pdenomme at gmail.com> wrote:

> Do the Pack hold concerts at Lambeau?
>
>
> On Sat, Mar 13, 2010 at 2:02 PM, Victor Waldron <victor19 at gmail.com>wrote:
>
>> I agree. However Lamb-O does have some synthetic fibers woven through the
>> sod to help it hold together better. It seems to work, you'd think they'd be
>> able to put it in SF as well.
>>
>> Another thing that will help: not having the home schedule back loaded
>> with November and December games. If I recall correctly we've had 3 home
>> games in both November and December the past two seasons. It's not the best
>> time of year for keeping turf in good condition.
>>
>> V
>>
>>
>> On Sat, Mar 13, 2010 at 2:13 PM, Steve Behrens <steve.behrens at gmail.com>wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> I still believe the Bears should always have real grass at Soldier
>>> Field.  I also believe that the Park District needs to figure out how to
>>> grow and maintain the stuff.
>>>
>>> How often does Lamblow re-sod each year?  I don't believe they re-sod
>>> each year.  Or if they do, it's only once. (I could be wrong as I've done
>>> absolutely no investigating of Lamblow's field).
>>>
>>> What the Park service needs to do is plant seed, keep people off of it
>>> all summer (yeah, right) and let it establish itself.  Aerate regularely to
>>> keep it un-comapcted, fertilize, water, and the Bears would have the best
>>> playing field in the league that wouldn't self destruct late in the season.
>>>
>>> It's not that hard, but the Park service sure makes it out to be.
>>>
>>> -Behr
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Sat, Mar 13, 2010 at 8:44 AM, Tom Shannon <tshanno at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> [image: MSN Tracking Image]
>>>>  ------------------------------
>>>> NFL panel finds some injuries more common on turf
>>>> By BARRY WILNER, RACHEL COHEN
>>>> AP Sports Writers, AP Sports Writers
>>>> The Associated Press
>>>> updated 11:36 p.m. CT, Thurs., March. 11, 2010
>>>>
>>>> NEW YORK - An NFL panel found that certain serious knee and ankle
>>>> injuries happen more often in games played on the most popular brand of
>>>> artificial turf than on grass.
>>>>
>>>> The league's Injury and Safety Panel is presenting its study Friday at
>>>> the annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons in New
>>>> Orleans.
>>>>
>>>> The report examined the 2002-08 NFL seasons, comparing games played on
>>>> grass to those on FieldTurf. It found that the rate of anterior cruciate
>>>> ligament injuries was 88 percent higher in FieldTurf games — a conclusion
>>>> the manufacturer of the synthetic field hotly disputes.
>>>>
>>>> Panel chairman Dr. Elliott Hershman, a Jets team orthopedist, said it's
>>>> too soon to make any recommendations on what surface teams should choose.
>>>> More research is needed on issues such as whether players are wearing the
>>>> right types of shoes on artificial turf.
>>>>
>>>> "At this point we want to stimulate more discussion," he said.
>>>>
>>>> The panel has presented its findings to league owners, the NFL Players
>>>> Association and companies that make artificial turf. The study has been
>>>> submitted for publication.
>>>>
>>>> "The paper is designed to stimulate further discussion, inquiry, and
>>>> improvements in playing surfaces," league spokesman Greg Aiello said. "It
>>>> does not draw any conclusions about the cause of the injuries analyzed. Our
>>>> panel states in the report that additional analyses, data from future NFL
>>>> seasons, and studies of injury rates on synthetic turf and natural grass
>>>> surfaces, including for other athletic populations and levels of football,
>>>> are needed before any conclusions can be drawn or recommendations made."
>>>>
>>>> Nine NFL stadiums currently have FieldTurf (Cincinnati, Detroit,
>>>> Indianapolis, New England, Atlanta, Minnesota, St. Louis, Seattle and the
>>>> new Meadowlands Stadium).
>>>>
>>>> NFL teams began switching from the old carpet-style turf to the
>>>> springier, more grass-like surface in 2000. By the end of the 2008 season,
>>>> 14 stadiums used a brand of next-generation turf, while the rest had grass.
>>>> Too few games were played on brands other than FieldTurf to include them in
>>>> the study, Hershman said.
>>>>
>>>> The panel started to notice a higher rate of injuries on the new turf in
>>>> evaluating the data the NFL compiles each season, Hershman said. Once enough
>>>> games had been played on the newer surfaces to do a scientific analysis, the
>>>> panel found that ACL injuries and a more serious type of ankle sprain
>>>> occurred at a higher rate that is statistically significant.
>>>>
>>>> The rate for the ankle sprains was 32 percent higher on FieldTurf than
>>>> on grass. MCL injuries and a less serious type of ankle sprain also happened
>>>> more frequently, but the difference was not statistically significant.
>>>>
>>>> Hershman noted the NFL research may not apply to lower levels of
>>>> football or to other sports.
>>>>
>>>> FieldTurf president Eric Daliere argues that the panel's methods are
>>>> faulty and cites research by Montana State professor Michael Meyers that has
>>>> been published in The American Journal of Sports Medicine. Meyers' work,
>>>> though, has only looked at high school and college football, and not the
>>>> NFL. FieldTurf paid for Meyers' recent study that found lower overall injury
>>>> rates for college games played on the surface.
>>>>
>>>> "Michael Meyers has come to a very different conclusion on a different
>>>> level and his is a real study, not just a report," Daliere said. "He
>>>> mentions poorly designed (analyses) — and this is the kind of work he does —
>>>> and that the statistical analysis by the (NFL) panel was also flawed.
>>>>
>>>> "I don't put a lot of weight in it and think if is unfortunate it is
>>>> coming out this way at this time."
>>>>
>>>> Meyers said in an e-mail to The Associated Press that he told the NFL in
>>>> 2008 "there are too many glaring omissions and biases in the study to reach
>>>> any valid conclusions." He questioned why certain factors that could
>>>> influence injury rates were not included and noted that some teams didn't
>>>> play any games on FieldTurf during some of the seasons studied.
>>>>
>>>> Other university scientists and statisticians also expressed concerns,
>>>> he said, and the panel withdrew its report after those meetings.
>>>>
>>>> Hershman disputed that.
>>>>
>>>> "Nobody withdrew anything," he said. "We actually did some review of our
>>>> data based on some of the thoughts they raised, and we validated our data.
>>>> Because we did all that, we now feel our data is valid, relevant and
>>>> statistically significant."
>>>>
>>>> FieldTurf promotes the safety benefits of its product on its Web site.
>>>>
>>>> "As a company," Daliere said, "the safety of the athletes really is in
>>>> our DNA. It's what FieldTurf focused on from the very beginning when we
>>>> replaced traditional Astroturf with something dramatically safer."
>>>>
>>>> Daliere mentioned that Hershman's team, the Jets, will have FieldTurf in
>>>> its new stadium.
>>>>
>>>> A close look at the panel's data may not have much effect on NFL teams
>>>> who know they can save money on maintenance in the long run by using
>>>> FieldTurf rather than grass. The study estimated that if every stadium with
>>>> grass were to switch to FieldTurf, that would result in only five additional
>>>> ACL injuries per season across the NFL because of the infrequency of the
>>>> injury.
>>>>
>>>> The NFLPA's biennial poll of its players last year showed that their
>>>> four favorite fields were grass: Arizona, Tampa, San Diego and Carolina.
>>>> Four of the next six were FieldTurf.
>>>> Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material
>>>> may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
>>>>
>>>> URL: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/35829956/ns/sports-nfl/
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