USE OF ARTIFICIAL SURFACES IN SPORTS

Abstract

Artificial surfaces on sports fields and terrains have been increasingly used for the last 20 years. The development of modern technologies for making such surfaces is constantly increasing, and on the market it can be find different manufacturers who place their products in the sports industry. Soccer is the most widespread sport in the world, and was among the first to implement fields with artificial grass in the system of training and playing matches. Today, artificial grass of the 4^th generation is used and placed on football pitches around the world with the highest European standards. By reviewing research on grass surfaces it was observed that artificial grass of the first and second generation had a higher incidence of injuries compared to natural lawns. Particular attention should be paid to the toxicity of the granulate that was placed on the artificial grass, because skin and respiratory diseases have been recorded on the lawns of older generations. Tennis belongs to the sports where artificial surfaces with different characteristics were among the first to be used. Frequent changes of playing on different tennis surfaces led to injuries to players who were not adequately physically prepared. Indoor sports such as handball, volleyball, futsal use multipurpose artificial surfaces for their competitions. Researches of injuries in indoor sports has shown that there is increased risk of injury when playing on artificial surfaces. The goal of this professional work is to encourage the scientific and sports community on the importance of prevention and good physical preparation of athletes for playing on different artificial surfaces. Also, the final conclusion is that it is necessary to constantly control the production of artificial surfaces and regularly monitor the incidence of injuries during training and competition, in order not to increase the risk of injury of athletes.