Headers in Football Linked to Brain Disruptions, Research Suggests

Strategic Insights -

New research has found a link between frequent heading in football and changes in the brain's microstructure. The study, which included 352 amateur footballers, found that those who headed the ball most often had greater disruptions in the brain's microstructure compared to those who headed the ball less often. The research also found that the disruptions were linked to poorer performance on thinking and memory tests.

Key Takeaways:

  • The study found that amateur footballers who headed the ball most often had "much greater" disruption in the brain's microstructure compared to those who headed the ball less often.
  • The disruption was found in the juxtacortical white matter within the brain's folds, a layer of white matter that lies alongside the grey matter of the cerebral cortex.
  • The research team used brain scans to examine the microstructure of the brain and found that the organization of water molecule movement deteriorated as the number of headers increased.
  • The study found that players with worse performance on thinking and memory tests had more disorganized movement of water molecules in the affected area of the brain.
  • The research also found that disruptions in the folds of the orbitofrontal brain region, just above the eye sockets, partially affected the relationship between repeated head impacts and thinking and memory performance.

Statistics:

  • The highest group of footballers had an average of 3,152 headers per year, compared to 105 in the lowest group.
  • The study included 352 amateur footballers with an average age of 26 and 77 athletes taking part in non-collision sports with an average age of 23.
  • The research found that players in the highest group had "much greater" disruption in the microstructure of the brain compared to players in the lowest group and non-collision sport athletes.

Sources:

  • "Association of contact sports with changes in brain tracer uptake" by Dr. Michael Lipton (Journal Neurology).
  • news@irishmirror.ie (news article referencing the study).
  • Jeff Astle Foundation (organisation raising awareness of brain injury in all forms of sport).