Are Soccer Headers Directly Related to Brain Injury?

Do soccer headers and brain injury go hand-in-hand? For young players and pro athletes alike, this information is important to understand before playing your next game.

Headers Have Been Linked to Brain Injury

Although research is mixed on the subject, a team of researchers from Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and Montefiore Medical Center concluded that brain injury is a possible outcome from regularly heading the ball on the field. The researchers used advanced MRI-based testing and cognitive exams to assess brain function in amateur soccer players to reach their conclusion.

The study was conducted on 38 amateur players with the average age of nearly 30. All of the players played soccer on a regular basis since they were children. In order to assess the sport, the players were requested to estimate how many times they headed the ball within the last year alone.

The researchers used this information to compare the regularity of headers to cognitive function and individual brain scans. The results weighed in that players that headed the ball repeatedly showed signs of brain injuries that looked similar to a concussion, also classified as mild traumatic brain injury.

Once this mild to severe brain damage has occurred from headers on the field, it can cause subtle yet long-term deterioration in both coordination and thinking.

The key takeaway from the study is this: Players' brains most likely aren't affected from heading the ball every once in a while. But when a player heads a ball frequently on the field, it can cause healthy brain cells to degenerate.

Header Safety for Young Soccer Players

Unfortunately, more research must be done in order to set clear guidelines for headers for young soccer players that may be more susceptible to brain injury. As always, experts caution to practice the proper technique when heading the ball by striking with the forehead; it's critical that the head, neck, and torso remain in a solid line to blunt the impact to the head.

As many soccer coaches can verify, most young children are not ready to practice this new skill until close to the age of 10 - no matter how much they would like to try to head the ball like pro soccer players on TV.

Other Austin soccer experts caution that young players should be made to wear protective helmets on the field. This is taking into account the fact that soccer balls kicked by skilled athletes could travel at close to 100 km an hour, greatly increasing the risk of brain injury after a head-on collision.

Last but not least, younger players will do best by playing with soccer balls of the appropriate size. Small balls for younger children are less likely to cause injury on the field, especially when a ball is inflated properly.

Heading the ball regularly could result in mild memory loss at a minimum. While soccer players can't be told not to head the ball altogether, it's vital to practice caution on the field.