NFL players are in revolt over artificial turf after Aaron Rodgers’ injury… here, an athletic trainer explains the threats posed by the surface – and why figure skating can help stars stay healthy

Aaron Rodgers’ season-ending Achilles tendon rupture has reignited the debate over whether NFL players are more at risk of injury on artificial turf than on natural grass. The NFL Players Association is once again demanding change; the NFL has been accused of putting profits before people.

Deon Giddens is a former defensive back who spent time with the Buffalo Bills. He now trains athletes in professional football, baseball, basketball and boxing, including MLB All-Star Mookie Betts and Titans safety Matthew Jackson.

Here he sheds light on the specific threats that playing on artificial grass poses and why figure skating can keep players healthy.

Artificial grass is dangerous. We can’t capture every injury on the turf, but I do believe it’s a factor in the type of injuries we’ve seen over the last five to six years.

Now we’re seeing a lot of tendon and ligament damage – torn ACLs, MCLs and a lot of Achilles injuries like Aaron Rodgers’.

The turf doesn’t give much, so many things pop up without making contact. That is the difference.

Suppose you’re in the house and there’s a wet spot that you don’t see: if you accidentally step in it and your foot slips – while your other foot is on the dry spot – you still have the opportunity to recover. You can catch yourself.

If it’s a stiff, rough surface and my foot doesn’t give, my knee or my ligaments – whatever holds that together – will snap. Something has to move… that’s the law of physics.

The temperature of the surface is also a factor. Artificial grass heats up much faster – and stays a lot warmer – than natural grass. For example, if the air temperature is 95 degrees, the temperature in the field might be 120 degrees. That also plays a role in the speed and how much the surface can give.

But I agree with the NFL, it’s not as simple as change the turf. It varies from case to case: age is a factor, a player’s injury history is a factor, the climate, the weather, all that stuff.

It’s not just a simple solution. We get brainwashed because we hear it so much, but we also need to look at the offseason training with these players. If you have pre-existing injuries and you don’t correct the deficiencies, then we go back the next season and keep repeating the same injury and all of a sudden we have a non-contact ligament injury… is that real? the artificial grass?

I think players have to train differently when they know they are playing on artificial grass. There was a time when you could get away with it, but now we need to be more aware of strengthening our ligaments.

That could mean more resistance band work. That may mean being unconventional and cross-referencing other sports to strengthen certain areas they’re not used to.

I see a lot of things that skaters or speed skaters do: on an unstable surface, the ice, they have to be strong enough to move their body on a single blade. Hockey players have some strong ligaments and a lot of mobility and strength in some of the secondary muscle groups that trainers sometimes overlook.

I like to train players on one leg at a time. Rarely will athletes have the opportunity to make the perfect jump or cut. So you need to make sure that each leg is independently stable and strong.

I do a lot of work barefoot, to strengthen the feet. Skater hopping, lateral exercises – landing, holding, explosiveness… what skaters need to do.

Rarely do athletes have the ability to simply go straight – normally this is a response to hitting a ball, or to mirroring or shadowing someone else.

You want to make sure your ankles and joints are strong and that they can take the brunt of what a regular season, playoff run, or championship run looks like.

So I understand why people are just screaming, change the turf. We will still encounter these types of injuries. But I don’t think so much.