Heading of footballs needs more research, say experts
THE co-author of a University of Stirling study which found that a footballer’s brain function and memory were significantly impaired after a single heading session has added her voice to growing calls for more research in the area.
Questions about the long-term damage caused by heading footballs have once again been raised this week after it was revealed that Billy McNeill, the legendary Celtic captain, is the latest player of his generation to be diagnosed with dementia.
Dr Magdalena Ietswaart, a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of Stirling, helped carry out a groundbreaking investigation into the effects of the practice last year and found the results to be conclusive and startling.
“The University of Stirling carried out one study into the effects of doing routine heading drills on 19 amateur male and female football players,” she said. “The participants headed machineprojected modern footballs 20 times in a row at controlled speeds of 20 to 30 miles-per-hour, mirroring routine soccer practice.
“Footballers wore an accelerator to record the force of impact and we measured brain function before and directly after the heading drill and at 24 hours, 48 hours and two weeks.
“We used a brain stimulation technique, transcranial magnetic stimulation, to look at the brain signal as it travels from the brain to the leg. From this we could work out the levels of inhibition in the brain. We also tested players’ memory function.”
Dr Ietswaart added: “The study identified small but significant changes in brain function immediately after routine heading practice – the first to detect direct changes in the brain after players are exposed to everyday head impacts, as opposed to clinical brain injuries like a concussion.
“Increased inhibition in the brain was detected after just a single session of heading. Memory test performance was also significantly reduced, with effects normalising within 24 hours.”
The study sent shockwaves through the game and led to the Professional Footballers’ Association in England urging the FA to seriously consider banning children under 10 from heading the ball – a safeguard already in place in the United States.
Officials from the Scottish Youth Football Association have also met with those responsible for the research and are currently reviewing their guidelines amid escalating fears over the potential dangers to youngsters.
Dr William Stewart, the lead neuropathologist at the Southern General Hospital in Glasgow, collaborated with the University of Stirling study and this week appealed for more funding to be earmarked for research into the link between heading footballs and developing dementia in later life.
Dr Ietswaart has echoed her colleague’s views but stressed that far more work still needs to be carried out into the potential short and long-term effects that heading a ball can have by the scientific community.
“Unfortunately the science has only just begun to tackle the issue and we have still quite a long way to go before we fully understand what heading the ball does to the brain,” she said.
“We have met with the Scottish Youth FA to talk about the implications of our research and the need for further research to fully understand the impact that heading has on brain health.
Dr Ietswaart continued: “Until we can fully uncover the impact heading a football has on a developing brain, at different stages in its development, it’s not possible to put an age limit on heading in the game, with any scientific certainty that this will make a difference to players.
“We also need to uncover at any age the mechanisms that relate to brain health in the long-term, before we can make concrete decisions about the game among young players.”