Steffen, Andersen, & Bahr agreed with these findings, only they found that injuries on artificial turf were more severe. Differences in injury rates were more significant on artificial turf than for women (Fuller, Dick, & Corlette et al., 2007). Drakos (2008) found that friction on artificial turf was a key factor in injury rates. However, not all studies agreed that the difference in injury rate was significant between artificial turf and natural grass. Bjernbee, Bahr, & Andersen (2010) found that there were differences between artificial turf and natural turf, but that these were not significant. Statement of Hypotheses

This research will examine two hypotheses. This first is that, "friction injuries will be found to be significantly greater on synthetic turf than on natural turf among male high school football players." The independent variable will be whether the groups are playing on synthetic or natural...

The dependent variable will be the number of friction injuries sustained.
The second hypothesis will state that, "Ankle sprains will be found to be significantly greater on synthetic turf than on natural turf among male high school football players." The independent variable will be whether the groups are playing on synthetic or natural turf. The dependent variable will be the number of ankle injuries sustained.

This research study will explore two different types of sports injures and compare rates on artificial vs. natural grass. It will provide a side-by-side comparison using two types of injuries that are easily definable for research purposes. The research will contribute to solution of the debate as to whether the numbers of injuries sustained on artificial turf are significantly higher than on natural turf among make high school football players.