Heading in soccer linked to concussions, study says

Area coaches wrestle with what to make of preliminary findings.

In this Dayton Daily News file photo Beavercreek forward Matt Carnes and Lakota West defender Gabe Welp go for the header during their boys soccer regional final at BellBrook Saturday, Nov. 5, 2011.

E.L. Hubbard photography In this Dayton Daily News file photo Beavercreek forward Matt Carnes and Lakota West defender Gabe Welp go for the header during their boys soccer regional final at BellBrook Saturday, Nov. 5, 2011.

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By Greg Billing, Staff Writer Updated 3:29 PM Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Concussions to seven different players in 2010 caused Chaminade Julienne High School boys soccer coach Matt Money to limit head balls during practices this past season.

Based on a new study, the CJ coach might consider reducing the number of hits to the head even more next season.

The preliminary study found abnormalities in the brains of 32 avid amateur soccer players who headed the ball more than 1,000 times a year. Those abnormalities ranged from memory, attention, planning, organizing and vision.

Money estimates his players head the ball 100 times in a typical week. During the course of an eight-week season, that’s about 800 times. The study, though, leaves youth and high school soccer coaches with more questions than answers. More specifically: How much is too much for players, especially those who want to keep playing as adults?

“We might not be doing damage to that seasoned player that has tremendous strength and keeps his mouth shut and heads the ball perfectly,” Money said, “versus that freshman or sophomore that isn’t technical enough in the air. If we practice heading, is that player more at risk?”

While concussions are easier to detect and treat, the potential long-term effects of head balls — even for those players who never suffer a concussion — likely won’t change the game, Money said.

“We’re not going to let the ball bounce and then play it,” Money said. “As a coach, you’re going to ask your players to compete for a 50-50 ball.

“It’s a question that is certainly on my mind.”

Jessica Saunders, the injury prevention coordinator at Children’s Medical Center, said more data is needed before a conclusion can be determined for younger players such as when to start allowing heading the ball.

“We’re interested to see more studies on this. It’s a little preliminary to say we don’t recommend heading the ball at this point. We don’t know enough,” Saunders said.

“We don’t have any specific uses here we can point to that if a brain injury was sustained by heading, but we see head injuries all the time but not specifically from heading.

“These are amateur soccer players, so it’s hard to translate to kids. ... Kids develop so differently, and they’re not developed when they begin to play these sports. There are a lot of unknowns right now as far as the brain development. To put an actual age on things right now is challenging.”

Michael Lipton, the lead researcher and associate director of the Gruss Magnetic Resonance Research Center at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, told WebMD in an interview:

“The new study shows that there may be a safe range where you can head the ball without adverse consequences to the brain. Until more soccer players are studied for longer periods of time, however, we don’t have enough evidence to say ‘x’ amount of heading is absolutely bad for you. So my advice is to try to minimize heading, especially during practice drills where players often head the ball back and forth 30 or more times at a shot.”

Jerry Snodgrass, an assistant commissioner at the Ohio High School Athletic Association in charge of soccer regulations, said there is not a rush to make headgear a requirement for high school soccer players.

That order, he said, would come down from the National Federation of State High School Associations. Headgear, including the popular Full 90, is allowed in high school games.

“I personally don’t see it becoming mandatory,” Snodgrass said. “I think the option that’s there for them to wear what they can is exactly that, it’s an option.”

Money, also an exercise physiologist and certified strength and conditioning specialist, said mouth guards might do more to prevent concussions and continued protection from blows to the head better than head gear. But communication is essential in soccer making the mouth guards difficult to use, and head gear still hasn’t gained acceptance.

“The literature I’ve read says the mouth piece might be better than the head gear,” Money said. “Does the head gear truly protect kids from the long-term effects? I haven’t seen a study yet that says either yay or nay.”

Added Saunders: “We don’t know how it affects a child because the brain is still developing. Because a child is still developing it’s that much more important to prevent injuries.

“I think at the end of the day, if you’re heading the ball, you’re causing the brain to move inside of the skull. It’s still a blow to the head.”