Repeatedly heading a soccer ball over the course of many years can cause long term brain injuries, according to a new study from researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University in New York.
For the study, researchers examined 30 amateur soccer players with an average age of 31 years old. Each had been playing soccer since childhood and reported an average of 22 years playing the game. Each participant underwent a process called diffusion tensor imaging.
"We studied soccer players because soccer is the world's most popular sport," Dr. Michael L. Lipton said in a statement. "Soccer is widely played by people of all ages and there is concern that heading the ball -- a key component of the sport -- might damage the brain."
"The DTI findings pertaining to the most frequent headers in our study showed white-matter abnormalities similar to what we've seen in patients with concussion," Lipton said in a statement. "Our study provides compelling preliminary evidence that brain changes resembling mild traumatic brain injury are associated with frequently heading a soccer ball over many years."
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