Report: Synthetic fields can lead to greater risk of concussions

Mark Dent and Brandon George - The Dallas Morning News

Synthetic turf fields of area high schools aren't being tested or are not being tested often enough to ensure athletes' safety, a problem that experts say could place football players at a greater risk for concussions.

Findings from an open-records request by The Dallas Morning News revealed that most schools don't test the safety and durability of their athletic fields on a regular basis. The hardness and shock absorption properties of a turf field are gauged by G-max, a measurement of acceleration that relates to the maximum force of a collision. A surface with a high G-max absorbs less force, meaning a dropped object sustains more force upon collision.

Most fields, after installation, have a G-max level between 100 and 140. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, anything above 200 is considered unacceptable.

"What's absolutely true is the higher the G-max, the bigger the force the player will sustain," said Dr. Timothy Gay, a physics professor at the University of Nebraska and author of the book Football Physics: The Science of the Game. "Hence, the bigger chance of concussive injury."

The only way to judge the G-max rating and thus the field's safety is by conducting a G-max impact test, something few schools do. Dr. Andrew McNitt, a professor of soil science and turfgrass at Penn State University and member of the Synthetic Turf Managers Association, recommended that high schools test their fields upon installation and then annually, adding that an every-other-year plan would also be a worthy precaution.

"I can walk across fields and think this feels soft, and when we test it's on the hard side," he said. "It's not an easy thing to perceive. You need to impact it."

Based on records obtained from 34 area school districts, only three