Heading a ball can cause concussion says US scientists

February 2, 2017

Players who head the ball are 3 times more likely to be concussed than others
The study by US scientists dispels the idea that most football head injuries come from clashes of heads or clattering against the goal post
It comes weeks after a study showed a link between concussion and Alzheimer’s

Ben Spencer Medical Correspondent For The Daily Mail

and
Mia De Graaf For Dailymail.com

Published:
16:00 EST, 1 February 2017

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Updated:
18:49 EST, 1 February 2017

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Heading the ball during a football match could cause head injuries including concussion and loss of consciousness, research suggests.

It comes weeks after a study revealed even low impact injuries like a concussion can increase one’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

Scientists in the US have found footballers who head the ball the most were three times more likely to suffer concussion than those who rarely head the ball.

Symptoms varied from moderate pain and dizziness to blacking out.

The new study, published in the Neurology medical journal, reveals simply heading the ball is more likely to lead to injury which increase one’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease

Experts have previously assumed most head injuries during football matches were caused by clashes of heads or clattering against the goal post.

But the new study, published last night in the Neurology medical journal, reveals simply heading the ball is more likely to lead to injury.

The study, in which 222 amateur footballers from New York were tracked for a fortnight of training and competitive matches, only examined the short-term impact of such head injuries.

But the scientists said the findings raised concerns about the likelihood of long-term damage.

Campaigners have warned for some years that heading the ball might increase the risk of neurological disorders including dementia.

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The issue was made infamous by former England and West Bromwich Albion striker Jeff Astle, who died at the age of 59 with severe brain damage.

Astle, who was known as a great header of the ball, died in 2002 after a career in which he scored 174 goals in 361 games.

His inquest revealed his neurological disorder was caused by the repeated impact of heading footballs, which had caused a problem usually only seen in professional boxers.

The new study, led by scientists at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, found that the 25 percent of footballers who headed the ball most often were three times more likely to suffer concussion symptoms than the 25 percent who headed the ball the least often.

Their symptoms included moderate pain, dizziness, feeling dazed, stopping play, needing medical attention or losing consciousness.

BRAIN CHANGES IN HIGH SCHOOL PLAYERS AFTER JUST ONE SEASON

A study at Wake Forest School of Medicine has been examining the brains of high school football players.

One of the participants is the son of former Minnesota Vikings player Greg DeLong.

The study published in the journal Radiology found measurable brain changes in teen players after a single season of ball – even without a concussion diagnosis.

Now DeLong is speaking out to say he would have seriously reconsidered his football career if he had known the risks.

‘Football’s important to us, but there are other things out there that are more important,’ DeLong told Good Morning America.

Study author Dr Michael Lipton said: ‘These results show that heading the ball is indeed related to concussion symptoms, which is contrary to a recent study that suggested that collisions were responsible for most concussions.

‘The findings raise concerns about the long-term effects from heading the ball, and more research is needed.’

It is timely.

Research published last month confirmed the strongest ever link between sports concussions and Alzheimer’s disease.

Until now, doctors only considered severe traumatic brain injury a key risk factor for developing neurodegenerative diseases.

But the new study by Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) has – for the first time – shown even low-impact injuries like concussion could have life-threatening consequences.

They reached their conclusion by scanning the brains of 160 wounded war veterans after tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Using MRI imaging, the researchers measured the thickness of their cerebral cortex in seven regions that have been pegged at the ‘ground zero’ for Alzheimer’s disease.

They also scanned seven control regions – regions that tend not to be affected.

They found that having a concussion was associated with lower cortical thickness in brain regions that are the first to be affected in Alzheimer’s disease.

Lead author, Dr Jasmeet Hayes, said: ‘Our results suggest that when combined with genetic factors, concussions may be associated with accelerated cortical thickness and memory decline in Alzheimer’s disease relevant areas.’