On your head, son: footballers’ memory risk

HEADING the ball during a football match could cause memory problems for up to 24 hours, researchers have found.

Although there have been several studies showing the dangers of concussions during contact sports, there has been none looking at the impact of regular smaller blows to the head.

Researchers at the University of Stirling asked a group of football players to head a ball 20 times, fired from a machine designed to simulate the pace and power of a corner kick.

They tested the players’ brain function and memory before and after each session. The results were published in the journal After just a single session of heading, they found that memory test performance fell by between 41 and 67 per cent.

Cognitive neuroscientist Dr Magdalena Ietswaart, senior lecturer in psychology at the University of Stirling, said: “In light of growing concern about the effects of contact sport on brain health, we wanted to see if our brain reacts instantly to heading a football.

“Using a drill most amateur and professional teams would be familiar with, we found that there was in fact increased inhibition in the brain immediately after heading the ball and that performance on memory tests was reduced significantly.

“Although the changes were temporary, we believe they are significant to brain health, particularly if they happen over and over again, as they do in football heading. With large numbers of people around the world participating in this sport, it is important that they are aware of what is happening inside the brain and the lasting effect this may have.”

The researchers say it is unclear whether the changes to memory would still remain temporary after repeated exposure to heading the ball over a long period of time.

Football often involves intentional and repeated bursts of heading a ball, leading doctors to fear it could have long-term health implications.

Concussions suffered in sport have been linked to neurodegenerative disease and chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a progressive degenerative disease of the brain.