Is it time to ban heading in women's soccer? (or in soccer all together?)

[Anonymous]

A recent MRI study concluded that heading soccer ball leads to abnormalities in brain which are worse in women players then men.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-6011021/Heading-ball-worse-womens-brains.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A recent MRI study concluded that heading soccer ball leads to abnormalities in brain which are worse in women players then men.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-6011021/Heading-ball-worse-womens-brains.html

No, and by the way, this is just a news article, not a scientific research. On the science end, I have read plenty and as usual, there is more to the story that I just don't have time or energy to put in this forum. But let's just say there is "media/news" science and real science

But for anyone who is worried about, get a concussion headbandm. They work. Science - the real kind - has confirmed it over and over again.

[Anonymous]

The most common soccer injuries are to the lower extremities. Therefore, it is time to ban kicking and running in women's soccer.

https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/bjsports/39/4/212.full.pdf

[Anonymous]

This is actually a news article about a study just published in the journal Radiology. The study compared adult female amateur soccer players to adult male amateur soccer players. Real science was done (unfortunately not on youth players) but one can likely extrapolate.

[Anonymous]

The people who are discounting the risk of brain damage from heading may have already headed the ball one too many times.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is actually a news article about a study just published in the journal Radiology. The study compared adult female amateur soccer players to adult male amateur soccer players. Real science was done (unfortunately not on youth players) but one can likely extrapolate.

What I'm saying is it's a single study. Any scientist would say one study is not enough. I read another article that showed males as having an initial better acute response, but females as having a better longer term response and that by the end of a month, impact was the same.

And there is a solution for concerned players and parents: concussion headbands. If you won't concede the headband, then you just like having something to be anxious about.

[Anonymous]

I heard that throwing injuries in baseball were caused by.... well throwing the ball. It is part of the game, play or do not.

[Anonymous]

And some asshole challenged me last week when I mentioned it was worse for women...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is actually a news article about a study just published in the journal Radiology. The study compared adult female amateur soccer players to adult male amateur soccer players. Real science was done (unfortunately not on youth players) but one can likely extrapolate.

What I'm saying is it's a single study. Any scientist would say one study is not enough. I read another article that showed males as having an initial better acute response, but females as having a better longer term response and that by the end of a month, impact was the same.

And there is a solution for concerned players and parents: concussion headbands. If you won't concede the headband, then you just like having something to be anxious about.

Can you point to reputable studies quantifying the the effectiveness of headbands?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is actually a news article about a study just published in the journal Radiology. The study compared adult female amateur soccer players to adult male amateur soccer players. Real science was done (unfortunately not on youth players) but one can likely extrapolate.

What I'm saying is it's a single study. Any scientist would say one study is not enough. I read another article that showed males as having an initial better acute response, but females as having a better longer term response and that by the end of a month, impact was the same.

And there is a solution for concerned players and parents: concussion headbands. If you won't concede the headband, then you just like having something to be anxious about.

Can you point to reputable studies quantifying the the effectiveness of headbands?

1. The Efficacy of Soccer Headgear (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC233175/)

"All 3 headbands were effective at reducing the peak impact force. The Protector headband appeared the most effective at reducing time to peak force and impulse within the design of this study. The clinical effectiveness of these products remains to be seen."

FYI: "In all age groups, however, proper heading technique is the athlete's greatest defense against injury from heading a ball."

2. Va Tech just published online an extensive study of ~25 different forms of headgear: https://www.beam.vt.edu/helmet/soccer-headgear-ratings.html
"Laboratory testing determined that better models reduce impact forces by more than 50 percent and concussion risk by more than 70 percent."

3. "Evidence Mounts for Headgear in Soccer": not a true study, but a good summary article
"FIFA researchers outfitted crash test dummy heads with various types of soccer headgear. Earlier studies had showed that soccer players' heads sometimes collide at speeds up to 2.5 m/s. So the researchers dropped one dummy head against another at approximately that speed. They found that the headgear reduced peak linear acceleration by about a third"

[Anonymous]

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/879479 for #3

[Anonymous]

It blows my mind that parents will let their kids risk long term brain issues to play a sport. The concerns over heading in soccer aren’t anything new but many parents just don’t seem to care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1. The Efficacy of Soccer Headgear (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC233175/)

"All 3 headbands were effective at reducing the peak impact force. The Protector headband appeared the most effective at reducing time to peak force and impulse within the design of this study. The clinical effectiveness of these products remains to be seen."

FYI: "In all age groups, however, proper heading technique is the athlete's greatest defense against injury from heading a ball."

2. Va Tech just published online an extensive study of ~25 different forms of headgear: https://www.beam.vt.edu/helmet/soccer-headgear-ratings.html
"Laboratory testing determined that better models reduce impact forces by more than 50 percent and concussion risk by more than 70 percent."

3. "Evidence Mounts for Headgear in Soccer": not a true study, but a good summary article
"FIFA researchers outfitted crash test dummy heads with various types of soccer headgear. Earlier studies had showed that soccer players' heads sometimes collide at speeds up to 2.5 m/s. So the researchers dropped one dummy head against another at approximately that speed. They found that the headgear reduced peak linear acceleration by about a third"

I don't know what you're promoting but what you stated above is complete BS. Everything you pointed out above stated "reduce", NOT eliminate. It is like wearing seat belt will reduce the risk of fatalities but not eliminating it. Unlike like car accidents which people want to avoid, heading in soccer is a MUST.

Why don't you put the headband around your head and hit your head against the wall repeatedly and see what happen?

The helmet is supposedly protecting football players, right? Why do they still have concussions?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It blows my mind that parents will let their kids risk long term brain issues to play a sport. The concerns over heading in soccer aren’t anything new but many parents just don’t seem to care.

That's why "educated" and wealthy parents steer their kids away from "contact" sports and toward sports like tennis, swimming or golf because those are "lifetime" sports with no damage to the brain.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It blows my mind that parents will let their kids risk long term brain issues to play a sport. The concerns over heading in soccer aren’t anything new but many parents just don’t seem to care.

I played soccer in middle school and high school, and I don't remember a single kid getting a concussion.

Maybe we Gen X kids had thicker skulls or something.