a Department of Crop and Soil Sciences , University of Georgia , Athens , GA , USA.
b Department of Horticultural Science , University of Minnesota , Saint Paul , MN , USA.
Eur J Sport Sci. 2018 Jul;18(6):893-902. doi: 10.1080/17461391.2018.1457083. Epub 2018 Apr 3.
Natural turfgrass sports fields exhibit within-field variations due to climatic conditions, field construction, field management, and foot traffic patterns from field usage. Variations within a field could influence the playing surface predictability and require athletes to make abrupt or frequent adjustments that lead to increased ground-derived injury occurrence. This study introduces a new methodology aimed at evaluating the potential relationship between within-field variations of turfgrass sports field properties and ground-derived athlete injuries. Collegiate Club Sport athletes self-reported ground-derived injuries over two years. Soil moisture, turfgrass quality, surface hardness, and turfgrass shear strength were quantified from their two home fields. Hot spot analysis identified significantly high (hot spots) and low (cold spots) values within the fields. Injury locations were compared to hot spot maps each month. Binomial proportion tests determined if there were differences between observed injury proportions and expected proportions. Twenty-three ground-derived injuries were reported overall. The observed injury proportions occurring in turfgrass quality cold spots [0.52 (95% CI 0.29-0.76)] and soil moisture hot spots [0.43 (95% CI 0.22-0.66)] was significantly higher than expected [0.20 (p < .001) and 0.21 (p < .05), respectively]. Most injuries in significant areas of turfgrass quality, soil moisture, and surface hardness were along edges of hot and cold spots. These results suggest a potential relationship between within-field variations and ground-derived injuries, particularly in transition areas between non-significant and significant high and low values. Future larger-scale studies can incorporate the reported methodology to validate this relationship and implement strategies that reduce ground-derived injuries.
天然草坪运动场由于气候条件、场地建设、场地管理和使用中的人员踩踏模式，会出现场内变化。场内的变化可能会影响比赛表面的可预测性，并需要运动员做出突然或频繁的调整，从而导致地面来源的受伤发生率增加。本研究介绍了一种新的方法，旨在评估草坪运动场特性的场内变化与地面来源的运动员受伤之间的潜在关系。大学生俱乐部运动员在两年内自我报告了地面来源的受伤情况。从他们的两个主场采集了土壤水分、草坪质量、表面硬度和草坪剪切强度数据。热点分析确定了场内的高值（热点）和低值（冷点）。每月将受伤位置与热点图进行比较。二项式比例检验确定观察到的受伤比例与预期比例是否存在差异。总体报告了 23 例地面来源的受伤情况。在草坪质量冷点[0.52（95%置信区间 0.29-0.76）]和土壤水分热点[0.43（95%置信区间 0.22-0.66）]中观察到的受伤比例明显高于预期[0.20（p < 0.001）和 0.21（p < 0.05）]。在草坪质量、土壤水分和表面硬度的显著区域中，大多数受伤发生在热点和冷点的边缘。这些结果表明，场内变化与地面来源的受伤之间存在潜在的关系，特别是在非显著和显著高值和低值之间的过渡区域。未来更大规模的研究可以采用所报告的方法来验证这种关系，并实施减少地面来源受伤的策略。
