Heading the Ball in SoccerHeading the Ball in Soccer
There is great concern that heading the ball in soccer may cause brain injury. The following collection of information: media interviews, press releases, and journal articles, has been provided as resurce information for health professionals, program administrators, coaches and parents.
Dr. Lyle Micheli, Director of Sports Medicine at Children's Hospital in Boston has been quoted on NBC News as saying:
"Children do not have the musculoskeletal maturity or coordination to handle a header like an adult would. Kids are not fully developed until they're about 14 years old. I recommend that no child under the age of 14 should head the ball."
For more information about the interview and segment:
Soccer May Be Hazardous to Your Brain, Jenifer Joseph, ABC News.com
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/living/DailyNews/soccerinjury_980922.html
A study yet to be published from the Ann Arbor Institute for Preventative Sports Medicine reported by Ellen Creager of Knight Ridder Newspapers on March 4, 1999, reported that the researchers found that heading a soccer ball can cause symptoms of concussion, headaches and small but measurable verbal deficits among children. The more headers the child had, the greater the drop-off in his verbal score.The study followed 57 children for three years - mostly boys. The children, who were ages 11 to 14, were given detailed neurological testing throughout the period; researchers also kept track of how many headers the children took during six soccer seasons.
"Most parents view soccer as a sport that kids don't get hurt in," says Janda, who co-authored the study with colleagues Cindy Bir and Angela Cheney. "They don't want to hear this. But our concern is that, just like football, damage from repetitive head impact events can be cumulative."
He recommends the use of helmets and lightweight balls in instructional leagues, when children are learning to head the ball and are most likely to bounce it off the vulnerable top or sides of the head rather than on the hard frontal area.
For more information about the interview and research:
Heading Soccer Balls Damage Brain
Ellen Creager, Knight Ridder Newspapers, March 4, 1999
http://www.messenger-inquirer.com/yourhealth/e19814.htm
Heading the Ball in Soccer: What's the Risk of Brain Injury?
Michael J. Asken, Ph.D., Robert C. Schwartz, MD, The Physician and Sportsmedicine, Vol 26, No. 11, November 1998http://www.physsportsmed.com/issues/1998/11nov/asken.htm
Soccer and the Brain (Heading for Trouble?)
"Neuroscience for Kids" is maintained by Eric H. Chudler, Ph.D. and supported by a Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) from the National Center of Research Resources.http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/soccer.html
Heading Soccer Balls Safely
Health News from the publishers of the New England Journal of Medicinehttp://www.onhealth.com/ch1/in-depth/item/item,2001_1_1.asp
Professional Soccer Players Risk Long-Term Brain Injury
American Academy of Neurology News Releasehttp://www.aan.com/public/newsreleases/soccer.htm
Preventing Soccer Injuries
Sport and Recreation Victoria/Agency of the State Government of Victoria,Australiahttp://home.vicnet.net.au/~sportrec/sinjury/soccer.htm
Heading Injuries Out of Soccer: A Review of the Literature
Monash University Accident Research Centre-Report No. 125
The Accident Research Centre is one of Australia's leading road safety and injury prevention research organisations. The mission of the Centre is to contribute to a reduction in the frequency and severity of injury by the application of a scientific multi-disciplinary approach.http://www.general.monash.edu.au/muarc/rptsum/es125.htm
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