Heading a soccer ball may be damaging your brain

[A]lthough the magnitude of the acute changes observed was small,’” the researchers note, “‘I’t is the presence of the effect that is of interest. This measure was previously shown to be altered in confirmed concussion, but the acute changes … following the sub-concussive impact of football heading raise concerns that this practice, routine in soccer, may affect brain health.’”

In the study, 14 men and five women experienced changes in motor response and memory, the researchers observed. Each of the participants was asked to perform a rotational header, which basically means redirecting the soccer ball, at least 20 times in a row within about 10-minute sessions. Following the sessions, according to the researchers, the participants’ error scores on both short- and long-term memory tests were significantly higher than the participants’ baseline scores.

“Even after just a single session of heading, memory-test performance was reduced by as much as 67 percent, though the alterations appeared to clear within 24 hours. The researchers caution against taking this temporary disruption as a sign of no long-term damage,” the article reads. “The latest research, which used transcranial magnetic stimulation to measure brain function, builds on similar work that has found biochemical markers of brain injury in soccer players suffering the accumulated effects of sub-concussive head impacts. In these players, an initial injury triggered a pathological process, a cascade of cellular events, that led to brain degeneration.”

Soccer is the most popular sport in the world, with more than 265 million amateur and professional players. Competitive players head the ball an average of six to 12 times per game, according to the article, and at ball speeds far greater than those in practice drills.