Health: Scientists warn even amateur footballers risk brain damage from heading

Concerns are growing over the effects of repeatedly heading a football (Picture: Getty)

Regularly heading a football can lead to brain damage – similar to a traumatic brain injury – which could increase the risk of dementia, a new study has shown.

The research, carried out by a team at Columbia University, also recorded a measurable decline in brain function over two years.

‘There is enormous worldwide concern for brain injury in general and in the potential for football heading to cause long-term adverse brain effects in particular,’ said senior author Dr Michael Lipton, professor of radiology and affiliate professor of biomedical engineering at Columbia. 

‘A large part of this concern relates to the potential for changes in young adulthood to confer risk for neurodegeneration and dementia later in life.’

Although previous studies have examined the effects of heading a ball at a single point in time, this is the first study to assess changes over a longer period.

The team followed 148 young amateur football players with an average age of 27 (26% women) over two years, using a specialised questionnaire to determine how often they hit the ball with their head.

This was used to categorise heading exposure into low, moderate and high risk.

Diffusion tensor imaging of the brain (Picture: RSNA/Michael L Lipton)

The players’ memory and verbal learning skills were then assessed, and their brains scanned using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), an MRI technique used to analyse the microstructure of the brain by tracking the movement of water through the tissue.

The results showed those that headed the ball more showed more changes in the brain and decreased function.

‘Our analysis found that high levels of heading over the two-year period [more than 1,500 headers] were associated with changes in brain microstructure similar to findings seen in mild traumatic brain injuries,’ said Dr Lipton. 

‘High levels of heading were also associated with a decline in verbal learning performance. This is the first study to show a change of brain structure over the long term related to sub-concussive head impacts in football.’

England Football is currently trialling a ban on heading in under 12s (Picture: Getty/Cavan Images RF)

Dr Lipton and his team presented the findings of their research at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), alongside results from another study which also showed repetitive heading can affect verbal learning performance.