BMJ  2003;327:351-352 (16 August), doi:10.1136/bmj.327.7411.351

Editorial

Brain injury and heading in soccer

Head to ball contact is unlikely to cause injury but head to head contact might

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Whether repeated concussive or subconcussive blows cause permanent or cumulative brain injury is a complex and controversial question. Press coverage highlighted the case of Jeff Astle, a former England international football player, where the coroner ruled the cause of his death as an "industrial disease"—suggesting that repeated heading of balls during his professional career was the cause of his subsequent neurological decline.¹ This case was at odds with that of Billy MacPhail, a former Glasgow Celtic player, who in 1998 lost a legal battle to claim benefits for dementia that he said was due to heading the old style leather footballs. Concern has been raised over whether heading in soccer may be the basis for injury and cognitive impairment, and in the United States this has led to calls advocating the use of protective headgear for soccer players.

Soccer players don't just head the ball; their heads . . . [Full text of this article]

Centre for Sports Medicine Research and Education, Brain Research Institute, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3054, Australia (pmccrory@compuserve.com)

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Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

Some Interventions Possible

Roger L. Albin
bmj.com, 15 Aug 2003 [Full text]

The jury is still out on soccer heading

Rosanne S Naunheim, et al.
bmj.com, 20 Sep 2003 [Full text]

repeated brain sub-concussions.

manan vasenwala
bmj.com, 20 Sep 2003 [Full text]

Brain injury and heading in soccer

R Myles Gibson
bmj.com, 7 Nov 2003 [Full text]

A FEW WORDS ABOUT BRAZILIAN SOCCER AND HEAD INJURY

CELIO LEVYMAN,MD,MSc
bmj.com, 8 Nov 2003 [Full text]

Respose to McCrory et al, 2003

R. Myles Gibson, et al.
bmj.com, 26 Dec 2003 [Full text]

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