Heading footballs can cause boxing-type brain damage

Young soccer players may suffer the same sort of brain damage as boxers due to repeated blows to the head when "heading" the ball, according to new research from the Netherlands.

US and Dutch doctors suggest that new methods should be developed to help reduce the risks for young footballers. More than 50,000 schoolchildren are registered with football clubs across Ireland, according to estimates.

Mental performance tests were carried out on Dutch soccer players in their teens and 20s, and the results were compared to a group of swimmers and runners of a similar age and educational background.

The footballers were three times more likely to show signs of damage in tests for both memory and for planning ability, according to the study published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The researchers were studying whether blows to the head caused when heading the football and more serious impacts during play which caused concussion might lead to chronic traumatic brain injury (CBTI).

CTBI is the cumulative long-term damage caused by repeated blows to the head and is well recognised among professional boxers.

Mental impairment and abnormalities had already been observed in retired amateur and active professional soccer players. For this study, the researchers looked at much younger players with an average age of 24.

The study included 33 footballers and 27 athletes in other sports. All participants were interviewed and underwent 16 neuropsychological tests.

On tests that measured memory ability, 27 per cent of the footballers had scores that indicated an impaired performance compared with 7 per cent for the other group. Measurement of planning abilities showed similar results, with 39 per cent of footballers giving scores that showed reduced performance compared with 13 per cent of the others.

"These findings suggest that participation in amateur soccer may be associated with mild CBTI," according to the authors, who were from the Erasmus University, Rotterdam, the University Hospital of Maastricht, the Oregon Health Sciences University in Oregon and the Burke Rehabilitation Hospital in New York.

"Although cognitive impairment appears to be mild, it presents a medical and public health concern with 200 million Federation International Football Association registered soccer players worldwide.

"Methods for surveillance and prevention should be developed and adopted to maximise safety," given the numbers involved in the sport, the authors conclude.