Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 6, 2026

Biomechanical Analysis Methods to Assess Professional Badminton Players' Lunge Performance
Published on: June 11, 2019
Perceived Links Between Playing Surfaces and Injury: a Worldwide Study of Elite Association Football Players
Aimée C Mears1, Paul Osei-Owusu2, Andy R Harland2
1Sports Technology Institute, Wolfson School of Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK. A.C.Mears@lboro.ac.uk.
Background:
Injuries in association football (soccer) are debilitating for players and can also be detrimental to the success of a team or club. The type or condition of a playing surface has been empirically linked to injuries, yet results are inconclusive. The overall purpose of this study was to analyse elite football players' perceived links between playing surfaces and injury from a worldwide cohort of players. The results of this study can help to inform areas for future playing surface research aimed at trying to alleviate user concerns and meet user (i.e. the player) needs.
Methods:
Quantitative data were collected from 1129 players across the globe to address the aim of this study.
Results:
Ninety-one percent of players believed the type or condition of a surface could increase injury risk. Abrasive injuries, along with soreness and pain, were perceived to be greater on artificial turf. Surface type, surface properties and age were all potential risk factors identified by the players and linked to the playing surfaces.
Conclusions:
The results identified three areas where future research should be focussed to help develop surfaces that alleviate user concerns and meet user (i.e. player) needs: (i) current reporting of soreness, pain or fatigue as injuries, (ii) contribution of surface properties to injury; and (iii) surface experience of players from different countries differentiates their views of injury risk.
Related Concept Videos
Trait and State Self-Esteem
Genome-wide Association Studies-GWAS
GWAS does not require the identification of the target gene involved in...
Perceiving Loudness, Pitch, and Location
Place theory, or place coding, suggests that different pitches are heard because various sound waves activate specific locations along the cochlea's basilar membrane. The brain determines the pitch of a sound by...
Social Foundations of Self I: Play and Game
Covalently Linked Protein Regulators
These groups modify specific amino acids in a protein....
X-linked Traits

