Heading The Ball

In my capacity as a chiropractor in Mississauga, I've seen my share of patients that came to the office as a result of sports injury.  However, the most troubling type of injury can't always be easily detectable, especially that of concussion.  

One of the sports with a high prevalence of concussion or traumatic brain injury is soccer.  Studies have found that repeatedly heading a soccer ball can cause damage to nerve fibers in the brain that affect attention, memory, and problem solving.  Scientists who looked at brain scans of amateur players stated that a single header may not cause damage.  However, regular heading over many years may cause degeneration of the brain cells.  There is concern that regular heading of the ball may cause irreversible damage, especially among children.  Although there isn't yet enough evidence to drastically change coaching guidelines, it make sense to discourage children from excessive ball-heading if they're soccer players.