Soccer $m@r+s! - Brief Article

Soccer moms can now rest easy. A study by Dr. Donald Kirkendall and colleagues at the University of North Carolina suggests that "heading" the ball in soccer does not put players at a risk of head injury.

Kirkendall reviewed numerous studies on the subject and his conclusions were reported in Sports Medicine, a scientific journal.

"With purposeful heading, the impact is low," Kirkendall told Better Nutrition. He found that previous studies, which suggested heading can lead to injuries, were often flawed because there were uncontrolled variables, such as the player's history and age, the material the ball was made of, alcohol and drub intake and learning disabilities.

"This doesn't mean that a ball can't cause injury," Kirkendall clarified. "All sports have injuries that are inherent to the game."

In soccer, Kirkendall said, head injuries are fourth on the list. Ankle injuries were number one, followed by knee and lower leg injuries.

To be prepared to deal with injuries, coaches and referees need to be aware of the signs of injury, said Kirkendall. He explained that most people believe that concussions only occur When one loses consciousness, which is not true. Coaches should also be aware that most injuries occur in the penalty area and in the middle of the field. Players should always be removed from the field when an injury has occurred in order to avoid making it worse, or putting the player at risk of a second injury.

As far as children are concerned, heading the ball really isn't an issue. According to Kirkendall, "in a children's game, heading the ball is a novelty. The level of impact is very low." He noted that headina doesn't even really become part of the game until children reach middle school, and in some cases there are "no heading" rules within certain leagues.