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Gym Floor Information

Artificial playing surface increases the injury risk in pivoting indoor sports: a prospective one-season follow-up study in Finnish female floorball

K Pasanen1, J Parkkari1, L Rossi1, P Kannus2
Published Online First: 11 October 2007. doi:10.1136/bjsm.2007.038596
British Journal of Sports Medicine 2008;42:194-197
Copyright © 2008 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd & British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine

http://bjsm.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/42/3/194

1 Tampere Research Center of Sports Medicine, UKK Institute, Tampere, Finland
2 Injury and Osteoporosis Research Center, UKK Institute, Tampere, Finland

Correspondence to:
Ms K Pasanen, Tampere Research Center of Sports Medicine, UKK Institute, PO Box 30, FIN-33501 Tampere, Finland;
Objectives: To compare the injury risk in pivoting indoor sports between two different surfaces: artificial floors and wooden floors.

Methods: Female players (n = 331) from 26 top-level Finnish floorball teams were followed for one competitive season (6 months). All traumatic game related time-loss injuries were recorded. Injury incidences were calculated as the number of injuries per 1000 game hours for both surfaces. Incidence rate ratios (IRRs) were obtained from Poisson regression models.

Results: Over the competitive season, 62 traumatic injuries occurred during the games. The injury incidence per 1000 playing hours was 59.9 (95% CI 43.2 to 83.0) on artificial floors and 26.8 (95% CI 18.2 to 39.3) on wooden floors, the adjusted IRR being twofold higher (IRR = 2.1; 95% CI 1.2 to 3.5, p = 0.005) on artificial floors than wooden floors. The risk for non-contact injuries (adjusted IRR = 12.5; 95% CI 2.9 to 54.9, p = 0.001) and severe injuries (adjusted IRR = 3.3; 95% CI 0.9 to 10.9, p = 0.052) was especially high when playing on artificial floors.

Conclusions: The study attested that the risk of traumatic injury in pivoting indoor sports is higher when playing on artificial floors than wooden floors. The higher shoe–surface friction on the former surface is likely to explain the higher injury risk.

Relationship between floor type and risk of ACL injury in team handball

O.E. Olsen, G. Myklebust, L. Engebretsen, I. Holme, R. Bahr
Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center, Norwegian University of Sport and Physical Education, Oslo, Norway
Corresponding author: Odd-Egil? Olsen, PT, MSc, Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center, Norwegian University of Sport and
Physical Education, PO Box 4014 US, 0806 Oslo, Norway. Tel: 147 23262370, Fax: 147 23262307, E-mail:
Accepted for publication 18 February 2003
The purpose of this study was to compare the ACL injury
rate between two different floor types – wooden floors
(parquet, generally having lower friction) and artificial
floors (generally having higher friction). ACL injuries have
been recorded prospectively from the three top divisions for
men and women in Norwegian team handball during seven
seasons (1989–2000). A total of 174 ACL injuries have been
recorded, and of these 53 occurred in regular league games.
The floor types for all regular games from the same seasons
have been determined retrospectively based on match
schedules.

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