Does playing surface affect the risk of anterior cruciate ligament injuries in the National Football League? A look at the 2017 - 2021 NFL seasons.

Numerous published studies show trends toward increasing rates of ACL injuries on non-natural playing surfaces vs natural grass. Based on our findings the difference is not statistically significant, however it does trend toward increased risk of ACL injury with non-natural surfaces. Further studies should be performed with larger sample sizes in order to further determine the risk of non-natural surfaces.