Soccer Heading Linked to Brain Injury

Boston, MAWhen creating a list of the sports most commonly linked to a serious brain injury, hockey, football and boxing most likely come to mind. They have all been in the news for reported links to a traumatic brain injury, caused by repeated knocks to the head. But now a study suggests that heading - a move in soccer where the ball is bounced off a player’s head - could be linked to brain trauma.

The study was published in the journal Radiology (6/11/13), and examined whether or not heading in soccer was associated with traumatic brain injury. Researchers administered questionnaires to 37 amateur soccer players and performed cognitive function tests. According to the study’s authors, participants in the study headed a soccer ball between 32 and 5,400 times in the prior 12 months. Researchers found that heading was associated with brain abnormalities that are similar to those seen in people who suffered a traumatic brain injury, and was also associated with lower scores on memory tests.

But researchers also found that although there was a safe threshold for heading the ball - heading approximately 1,000 to 1,500 times a year was not associated with memory problems or brain abnormalities - some players below the threshold did experience memory problems, suggesting that some people may be more prone to problems after heading the ball.

Researchers further found that the players’ lifetime concussion history could not explain the brain abnormalities or low memory scores. The study was small and more research must be done before a link can be confirmed, but a neurologist speaking with WTOP News (6/12/13) cautioned that children should not head the ball at all because their brains are still developing.

Meanwhile, another study published in Radiology suggests that concussions can cause damage to the brain similar to that seen in patients who have Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers suggest that it may not be the concussion itself that causes the damage, but a series of responses in the brain that could lead to the damage.

Experts were quick to point out that this does not mean a traumatic brain injury will inevitably lead to Alzheimer’s, just that the damage in the brain is similar. Like with the soccer study, the concussion study was small, focusing on only 64 people who suffered a concussion.