Modeling Heading in Adult Soccer Players

Heading soccer balls can generate mild brain injuries and in the long run can lead to difficulty in solving problems, memory deficits, and language difficulties. Researchers evaluated the effects on the head for both correct and incorrect heading techniques. They based the head´s geometry on medical images. They determined the injury´s magnitude by comparing the neurological tissue´s resistance with predictions of the generated stresses. The evaluation examined fast playing conditions in adult soccer, taking into account the ball´s speed and the type of impact. Mathematical simulations using the finite element method indicated that correctly heading balls arriving at moderate speed presents a low risk of brain injury. However, damage can happen around the third cervical vertebra. These results coincide with medical studies. Incorrect heading greatly increases the brain injury risk and can alter the parietal area.