The Battle of Grass vs Turf

Okay, okay — there’s no actual fighting going on here. But let's talk about something that’s been fueling debates in locker rooms and labs alike: playing surfaces in sports.

In the United States, many high-contact sports — such as football — are played on either natural grass or artificial turf, with NFL fields currently split about 50:50. Turf was first introduced in the mid 1960s, debuting in Houston’s Astrodome. It quickly gained traction thanks to its durability, multi-sport versatility, and lower maintenance costs. Sounds great, right? Wrong.

NFL players overwhelmingly prefer playing on grass. In fact, a survey by the NFL Players Association found that 92% of players would rather play on grass than turf. Turf is associated with a higher risk of lower extremity injuries — think ACL tears and Achilles ruptures. Cleats don’t release from turf as easily, which increases the forces on the legs during cutting and pivoting — and ultimately leads to serious, often season-ending injuries. So, yeah, turf is not winning any popularity contests among the players. But what about concussions on grass and turf?

Here’s where things get murky. The research on concussion rates between grass and turf is mixed. Some studies report fewer concussions on grass, others say turf, and some find no difference at all. One meta-analysis of the available studies (i.e., top-tier scientific evidence) suggests a lower concussion rate on turf, while a systematic review (also solid) reports no significant difference between the two surfaces.

And now for a shameless plug: a study by yours truly dove deeper into this topic — not just looking at concussion rates, but also concussion-related symptoms. We found that concussions sustained on grass were associated with a higher number and severity of symptoms compared to those on turf.

TL;DR: Turf likely leads to more serious leg injuries, while grass might be linked to more severe concussion symptoms — though more research is needed to fully understand this. The goal would be to find a sweet spot where we can better protect both brains and knees. Until then, let’s keep the dialogue going — and maybe cut the turf some slack (or at least make it safer).