Frequent "Heading" in Soccer Can Lead to Brain Injury and
Cognitive Impairment Einstein Montefiore Research Suggests
Frequency Threshold for Injury That Could Lead to Safety
Guidelines BRONX, N.Y., Nov. 29, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --
Using advanced imaging techniques and cognitive tests,
researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva
University and Montefiore Medical Center, the University
Hospital and academic medical center for Einstein, have shown
that repeatedly heading a soccer ball increases the risk for
brain injury and cognitive impairment. The imaging portion of
the findings was presented today at the annual meeting of the
Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) in Chicago. The
researchers used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), an advanced
MRI-based imaging technique, on 38 amateur soccer players
(average age: 30.8 years) who had all played the sport since
childhood. They were asked to recall the number of times they
headed the ball during the past year. (Heading is when player