Background: Soccer is the most popular sport worldwide, in which players purposely hit the ball with the head. Although researchers have focused on the effects of concussions in contact sports, the role of sub-concussive impacts (e.g., heading) has gained attention. Objective: To investigate the effects of soccer heading on cognitive functioning in active soccer players. Methods: Male professional soccer players (n=9), and non-athletes (n=25), matched by age and education, were submitted to computerized cognitive tests and to the Neupsilin. All subjects were tested on two occasions – T0 and T2 – separated by two years. Results: Intragroup analyses revealed that while controls improved their performance in 11 variables from T0 to T2, soccer players only improved in one test. However, controls had a worst performance in two variables. In T2, players performed better in the immediate memory test. Among players, no significant correlations were found between number of headings per game and cognition in T0 and T2. Conclusion: There was no evidence of cognitive impairment in soccer players in T0 and T2. They even outperformed controls in some tests. However, the improvement (probable learning effect) observed from T0 to T2 in controls was consistent over the players unvarying performance. Further investigations are needed to clarify relationships between soccer heading and cognition.
Immediate effects of an acute bout of repeated soccer heading on cognitive performance
