from the journal Neurology
There has been anecdotal evidence
suggesting that soccer players who head
the ball are more likely to have
concussions. Pretty much what an
observer would expect, but new research
confirms how risky it is to head the ball. A
survey of amateur adult soccer players in
the New York City area questioned players
about the number of times they headed the
ball during the previous two weeks and how
many unintentional head impacts. Players
with the most headers were three times
more likely to have symptoms of
concussions than the least. Of those with
unintentional head impacts, twenty percent
reported moderate to severe symptoms.
The study was conducted at Albert Einstein
College of Medicine and published in the
journal Neurology.