{"id":2025,"date":"2020-12-31T07:00:09","date_gmt":"2020-12-31T07:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/?p=1331854"},"modified":"2020-12-31T07:00:09","modified_gmt":"2020-12-31T07:00:09","slug":"kids-who-head-soccer-balls-are-more-likely-to-develop-dementia-neurologists-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/?p=2025","title":{"rendered":"Kids who head soccer balls are more likely to develop dementia, neurologists say"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Alarm bells are ringing in sport about the risk of a group of chronic, neuro-degenerative diseases, commonly understood as <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/dementia-deaths-rise-during-the-summer-of-covid-leading-to-concern-146509\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">dementia<\/a>. There is an increasingly <a href=\"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007\/s00401-020-02197-9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">large body of evidence<\/a> which has identified that small, repetitive collisions of the brain inside the skull cause this disease.<\/p>\n<p>More high-profile players from England\u2019s 1966 World Cup-winning squad are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/football\/2020\/nov\/02\/football-and-dementia-players-who-died-with-or-are-living-with-the-disease-england-1966\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">getting dementia<\/a> and heading the soccer ball is to blame. It is now time for a blanket ban on heading until the age of 18, and from then on it should be closely monitored and reduced.<\/p>\n<p>It is not just the big collisions that end with players being carried off the pitch or taken to hospital for tests that appear to be causing the problem. It is the small, daily collisions \u2013 the ones which happen with routine. Research has found that one particular form of dementia (known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhs.uk\/conditions\/chronic-traumatic-encephalopathy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">CTE<\/a>) seems to only exist among those who, as part of routine activities, incur these regular assaults to the brain.<\/p>\n<figure><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/DKTpU2W7bfY?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0\" width=\"440\" height=\"260\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\">[embedded content]<\/iframe><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">What is CTE? Dr. Ann McKee explains.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>This issue was touched upon in the improperly titled Will Smith movie <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Io6hPdC41RM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Concussion<\/a><\/em> (because the disease is located in thousands of small hits, not one big one) and the Netflix Documentary, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.netflix.com\/gb\/title\/81062828\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Killer Inside<\/a><\/em>, about the NFL player, Aaron Hernandez who suffered from CTE. Indeed, recent research on American football has shown that 3.5 years of play <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bu.edu\/articles\/2019\/cte-football\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">doubles the chances of dementia<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>This issue is now gaining attention in the UK, with research showing a shift in attitudes in rugby union, and within the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/full\/10.1177\/2167479520948048\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Beautiful Game<\/a>\u201d as well.<\/p>\n<h2>Repetitive impacts<\/h2>\n<p>Jeff Astle, a member of England\u2019s 1970 World Cup squad, became the first British soccer player confirmed to have died from CTE \u2013 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thejeffastlefoundation.co.uk\/our-story\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">classed as an industrial injury<\/a>. Astle\u2019s family had long claimed it was heading the ball that was to blame. But it was only when England\u2019s 1966 World Cup-winning heroes began to be diagnosed with dementia that the soccer world really took notice.<\/p>\n<p>This link cannot be dismissed as a result of older, heavy balls that were replaced by lighter balls in recent years. This is a myth, as both older and new balls weigh 14-16oz. And while older balls got heavier when wet, they traveled slower and were less likely to be kicked to head height in games.<\/p>\n<p>Recent studies show that heading the ball, even just 20 times in practice, causes immediate and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S235239641630490X?via%3Dihub\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">measurable alterations<\/a> to brain functioning. These results have been confirmed in other heading studies and are consistent with research on repetitive impacts that occur from other sports such as <a href=\"http:\/\/clok.uclan.ac.uk\/35231\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">downhill mountain biking<\/a>, resulting from riding over rough terrain.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p><em><br \/><strong><br \/>Read more:<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/tour-de-france-does-pro-cycling-have-a-concussion-problem-100419\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Tour de France: does pro-cycling have a concussion problem?<\/a><br \/><\/strong><br \/><\/em><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>More worryingly, in a large study of former professional soccer players in Scotland, when compared to matched controls, players were significantly more likely to both be prescribed dementia medications and to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nejm.org\/doi\/full\/10.1056\/NEJMoa1908483?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&amp;rfr_id=ori%3Arid%3Acrossref.org&amp;rfr_dat=cr_pub++0pubmed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">die from dementia<\/a> \u2013 with a 500% increase in Alzheimer\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p>These findings finally pressured the FA into changing the rules for youth soccer. In February 2020, the FA denied direct causation but followed what America had done <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/sport\/football\/news\/us-soccer-ban-heading-ball-children-over-fears-concussion-and-head-injuries-a6728341.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">five years earlier<\/a> and changed its guidelines concerning <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefa.com\/news\/2020\/feb\/24\/updated-heading-guidance-announcement-240220\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">heading the ball<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The current guidelines don\u2019t stop children from heading the ball in matches, but they do forbid heading the ball as part of training until the age of 12 \u2013 when it is gradually introduced. These measures do not go far enough.<\/p>\n<p>A new campaign, called Enough is Enough, and an accompanying <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/football\/article-8955591\/Enough-Sportsmail-launches-campaign-tackle-dementia.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">seven-point charter<\/a> was launched in November which calls for a radical intervention into heading in soccer. Former England captains, Wayne Rooney and David Beckham have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-8968611\/David-Beckham-backs-fight-tackle-football-dementia-crisis.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">supported it,<\/a> while 1966 legend Sir Geoff Hurst has also backed a ban on kids heading the ball.<\/p>\n<figure><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/V8TUV6jiG0k?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0\" width=\"440\" height=\"260\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\">[embedded content]<\/iframe><\/figure>\n<p>And the players union, the PFA, has now called for heading in training by professional players to be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thepfa.com\/news\/2020\/11\/20\/pfa-heading-in-training-must-be-reduced\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">reduced and monitored<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The demands in this charter will be costly, as they concern aftercare for those with dementia and more expensive research into the issue. But the most significant demand they make is to protect professional players from dementia by severely limiting header training to no more than 20 headers in any training session with at minimum of 48 hours between sessions involving heading.<\/p>\n<p>These progressive policies should not be delayed by those in the sport, such as the medical head of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/sport\/football\/fifpro-headers-dementia-evidence-football-b1725129.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">world players\u2019 union Fifpro, Dr Vincent Gouttebarge<\/a>, who claimed that more research is required. Governing bodies can no longer take half measures or call for further discussion. This discussion has been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/blog\/2020\/nov\/18\/why-50-years-football-connect-heading-with-concussion\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">taking place for 50 years<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Bring in the ban<\/h2>\n<p>Brain trauma in sport is not a medical question, it is a public health crisis. If the evidence is strong enough that the PFA has advocated \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/football\/2020\/nov\/20\/pfa-calls-for-urgent-intervention-to-reduce-and-monitor-heading-in-training?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">urgent action<\/a>\u201d to reduce heading in training for adult athletes, then heading policies for children \u2013 in both training and matches \u2013 need to be drastically revised as a matter of urgency.<\/p>\n<p>While media attention focuses largely on the tragedy of lost soccer heroes, this is a much larger problem for youth players. Less than .01% of the people who play soccer in this country play at the professional level \u2013 but almost half of all children <a href=\"https:\/\/assets.publishing.service.gov.uk\/government\/uploads\/system\/uploads\/attachment_data\/file\/860729\/Child_Participation_in_Football.xlsx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">aged 11-15 play the game<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>If children are permitted to head the ball between the ages of 12 and 18, this means six years of damaging behavior. Children are not able to make informed decisions and need to be protected. There is no logical reason for the ban on heading soccer balls in training to stop at the age 12. Headers can wait until 18. The sport will survive just fine without them.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/150575\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" class=\" lazy\" data-lazy=\"true\"><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https:\/\/theconversation.com\/republishing-guidelines --><\/p>\n<p><em>This article by&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/keith-parry-16848\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Keith Parry<\/a>, Deputy Head Of Department in Department of Sport &amp; Events Management, <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/bournemouth-university-1215\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Bournemouth University<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/eric-anderson-378980\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Eric Anderson<\/a>, Professor of Masculinities, Sexualities and Sport, <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/university-of-winchester-743\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">University of Winchester<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/howard-hurst-523412\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Howard Hurst<\/a>, Senior lecturer in Sport, Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/university-of-central-lancashire-1272\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">University of Central Lancashire<\/a>, is republished from <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/football-and-dementia-heading-must-be-banned-until-the-age-of-18-150575\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">original article<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/syndication\/2020\/12\/31\/kids-who-head-soccer-balls-are-more-likely-to-develop-dementia-neurologists-say\/\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Alarm bells are ringing in sport about the risk of a group of chronic, neuro-degenerative diseases, commonly understood as dementia. There is an increasingly large body of evidence which has identified that&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2026,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2025"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2025"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2025\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2026"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2025"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}