Introduction: Knee joint injuries are one of the most common sports injuries. In football the knee, apart from an ankle, is the most commonly injured joint. The majority of people who are actively involved in the game of football are convinced that the new generation of the artificial turf is a high-risk factor for the occurrence of injuries. We were interested in whether there is a difference between the incidence of acute traumatic knee injuries (further on ATPK) on an artificial turf and on a natural grass. After a review of studies, we expanded our question and asked additional questions. We were also interested in the results of ATPK – during the trainings and matches, whether there is a gender difference, and which type of ATPK is the most common one on a certain surface. Objectives: Our purpose was to find out, after reviewing the published professional and scientific literature, whether there is a difference between the incidence of ATPK on the natural grass and on the artificial turf. Methods: The literature research was conducted in the PubMed database. The research was limited to the period of time between 2002 and 2017, namely to the studies which were freely accessible and written in English. Results: We examined ten studies which differed according to the size of the sample, the time of observation, the gender and age of the participants, and the type of activity. Discussion and conclusion: According to the examined literature, we cannot claim which one of the surfaces is safer for playing football when we talk about ATPK. Some studies indicated that it could be the artificial turf, but there is a lack of such studies to claim this with certainty. Some studies indicate the opposite. We get similar results when we look at the gender difference on both surfaces, as none of them is more susceptible to the occurrence of ATPK on different surfaces. The result repeats itself if we look at different types of ATPK on both surfaces. However, we can confirm that female football players are more susceptible to the occurrence of ligamentous ATPK than male football players. In order to answer the question which surface is safer for playing football, we believe it is necessary to conduct additional studies. In the further studies, it would be recommended to take notes of the environmental factors of the fields (weather conditions, temperature, type and shape of the shoes, age of the field with artificial turf), an evaluation of the contact and noncontact injuries on certain surfaces, a dominance of the injured leg, and a more accurate evaluation of the type of injury.
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