Decades ago, synthetic grass developed a reputation among athletes as dangerous. Back then, “artificial grass” was no more than a thin layer of green plastic carpet laid over a hard surface. No wonder athletes who fell on it hurt themselves! However, in the intervening years, manufacturers of artificial grass have put a lot of effort and research into making their grass safer. Unfortunately, the idea that artificial grass is somehow less safe than natural grass has stuck around.
Research done at the Penn State Center for Sports Surface Research shows that although athletes playing on synthetic grass and natural grass hurt themselves about the same amount, injuries sustained on artificial grass were less serious and required less recovery time. Over the five years of this study, injuries sustained on artificial grass tended towards scrapes, bruises, muscle-related trauma and other non-contact injuries. On the other hand, athletes playing on natural grass sustained more head trauma and ligament injuries which required more recovery time overall.
Despite its early reputation, artificial grass is just as safe, if not safer for athletes than natural grass. Furthermore, a synthetic playing surface is a lot tougher than a natural one; it won’t get swamped during the rainy spring or stony hard during the dry California summers. An artificial field will be consistently soft and playable all year round.
