I just read an article that quoted several people who question how good this new hybrid-turf stuff really is in regards to injuries. Some claim it is too soft and while is may less the impact due to some injuries, it doesn't help and could be hurting other areas. I have also had discussions about how physical players are now. You cannot strengthen ligaments and tendons, but you can certainly strengthen the muscles around them. Today's players are faster, stronger, etc more than 20 years ago. The torque on joints and tendons have to be much, much more than it used to. I have to believe this has an much to do as anything. I used to remember a lot of broken arms, legs, etc back in the 70s. I never remember so many ACL type injuries. Your thoughts?
I'm not a Doctor nor do I play one on TV. I will however subject you to my theory. Its due to all the conditioning. The muscles, joints, & rest of the anatomy are always under some type of duress that eventually something has to give.
I would tend to agree that the turf is a big reason for injuries. Looking once again at my home team of the Vikings, they just got a new, soft grass-like turf and abandoned that horrible astroturf. Now we have several knee sprains and a few high ankle sprains. Most of the injuries aren't extremely serious, but some are. I also have to agree a bit with GF1, although I don't think they are a bunch of girls. With teams focusing more on protecting their players for the long term, and advances in medicine, I think more precaution is taking place among NFL teams. I think there are a lot of injuries that sideline a player today that in the past people would go out and just 'play through'. We now know that if you 'play through' these injuries, you could be ruining the rest of your life.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (vikingfan)</div><div class='quotemain'>I think there are a lot of injuries that sideline a player today that in the past people would go out and just 'play through'. We now know that if you 'play through' these injuries, you could be ruining the rest of your life.</div> I agree 110%. The main thing is the MRI. Now doctors can see injuries that they could not in the past. I bet many people played on partial ACL tears, while now a partial tear is season ending surgery. Also, if you are making big bucks in the NFL, and doc says "tear" then you are going to protect yourself and get off the field. Maybe they are more "sissy," but with the high wages, they also have much more to lose. I also agree that the new turf may be adding, although I haven't seen any stats. All I know is that when the Twins started the year on the new turf, there was a rash of foot, knee, and hammy injuries. The players said the turf was too soft, which made it more difficult to run on. Imagine running on concrete, or running on a pillow bed (as an extreme example). It will hurt more to crash on the concrete, but running on the pillow bed will take much more energy. The extra leg fatigue may lead to some injuries, but I'd guess mainly hamstring or groin pulls. I don't think it could cause the acl problems. Also, according to the NFL, there is the same amount of injuries this year as every other year, it's just that this year more popular players have been hurt. Food for thought. All in all it's an interesting topic. I wonder if anyone actually read my whole post
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Pack Attack)</div><div class='quotemain'>Didn't Ditka play an entire game on a broken leg that he KNEW was broken?</div> Probably - Ditka would bite off his own hand back then. I remember Jack Youngblood playing in the NFC Championship (I think) with a broken leg too.
