04/25/24
May 03, 2014
Brain Trauma Extends to the Soccer Field: Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the degenerative brain disease linked to repeated blows to the head, has been found posthumously in a 29-year-old former soccer player, the strongest indication yet that the condition is not limited to athletes who played sports known for violent collisions, like football and boxing.
I would think the repeatedly heading the ball would be a bigger concern that bodily collisions in soccer. Granted its been 20 years since I last played soccer on a real team but I remember practicing heading the ball multiple times in practice. A size 5 soccer ball weighs 16 ounces, a full pound and traveling at 30~60 mph depending on the level. Basically I'm not shocked that soccer has the head trauma issues too.
posted by umrlax at 02:06 PM on May 03, 2014
I would think the long term effects in soccer would be similar to those in football and hockey. A blow to the head is the same, no matter what the sport. One of the girls in the youth group at church took an elbow to the head during a varsity soccer game. She was down for about 4 weeks - darkened room, then inactivity, then limited activity - before resuming normal day-to-day stuff. This was her first concussion, and since soccer season is over and she is not likely to be playing at the college level, we hope it will be her last. Point is that serious head injuries are more common than many think, and athletes who have more than one or two should consider a different career.