Rough Play is Riskier Than Heading in Youth Soccer: Study

CHICAGO (AP) — Heading takes the heat in youth soccer, but a study says limiting rough play might be a better way to prevent concussions and other injuries.

The nine-year look at U.S. high school games found that over 1 in 4 concussions occurred when players used their head to hit the ball. But more than half of these heading-related concussions were caused by collisions with another player rather than with the ball. These included head-to-head, elbow-to-head and shoulder-to-head contact.

Dawn Comstock is a University of Colorado public health researcher who led the study. She says soccer rules prohibit most player-to-player contact and notes that rough play has become more common at all levels of the game.

The study was published Monday in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.

ReCENT POSTS

Loading...