The American journal of sports medicine
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A unique feature of soccer is the purposeful use of the head for controlling, passing, and shooting a soccer ball. Some concern has been expressed in the literature on the cumulative effects of heading on soccer players. Certain neurophysiologic and neuropsychologic changes have been reported in current or retired players, with heading being blamed. ⋯ Based on concussion history, the odds are 50% that a man, and 22% that a woman, will sustain a concussion within a 10-year period. The data indicate that concussions from player-to-player contact are a frequent hazard in soccer. Head injuries incurred this way may be more of an influence for published findings of physiologic and psychologic deficiencies than routine heading of the soccer ball.