Scots act on brain damage fears to ban header the day before and after games
November 29 - The Scottish Football Association (SFA) will ban professional footballers from heading the ball in training the day before and after a match.
The move comes as debate intensifies over the possible links between repetitive ball headers and brain disease. A number of top players have died of dementia in recent years, with families linking their dementia to their football careers and heading the ball.
The Scottish guidelines follow research from the University of Glasgow showing that former footballers were 3.5 times more likely to die of brain disease.
Scottish clubs are also urged to limit drills involving repetitive head movement to one session per week.
The new guidelines follow consultation with the 50 clubs in men's and women's professional football in Scotland and an SFA survey of clubs.
Clubs are urged to monitor heading drills during training in an effort to reduce overall contact load.
Scotland have already implemented header guidelines in youth football, with a ban on headers in training for the Under-12s.
Scotland was also the first country in the world to have a single set of concussion guidelines for all sports, with the 'When in doubt, avoid them' campaign.
Dr John MacLean of the SFA said: "As research continues to develop, what we already know about headers and their effects on the brain suggests that there is a measurable impairment of memory lasting 24 to 48 hours after a series of headers, and that brain-bound proteins can be detected in blood samples for a short time after taking the lead."
"Brain scan changes have also been reported in footballers that may be head-related.
"Therefore, the goal is to reduce any potential cumulative effects of cap by reducing overall exposure to cap during training."
Contact the author of this story at moc.l1669759694labto1669759694ofdlr1669759694owedi1669759694sni@n1669759694osloh1669759694cin.l1669759694uap1669759694
November 29 - The Scottish Football Association (SFA) will ban professional footballers from heading the ball in training the day before and after a match.
The move comes as debate intensifies over the possible links between repetitive ball headers and brain disease. A number of top players have died of dementia in recent years, with families linking their dementia to their football careers and heading the ball.
The Scottish guidelines follow research from the University of Glasgow showing that former footballers were 3.5 times more likely to die of brain disease.
Scottish clubs are also urged to limit drills involving repetitive head movement to one session per week.
The new guidelines follow consultation with the 50 clubs in men's and women's professional football in Scotland and an SFA survey of clubs.
Clubs are urged to monitor heading drills during training in an effort to reduce overall contact load.
Scotland have already implemented header guidelines in youth football, with a ban on headers in training for the Under-12s.
Scotland was also the first country in the world to have a single set of concussion guidelines for all sports, with the 'When in doubt, avoid them' campaign.
Dr John MacLean of the SFA said: "As research continues to develop, what we already know about headers and their effects on the brain suggests that there is a measurable impairment of memory lasting 24 to 48 hours after a series of headers, and that brain-bound proteins can be detected in blood samples for a short time after taking the lead."
"Brain scan changes have also been reported in footballers that may be head-related.
"Therefore, the goal is to reduce any potential cumulative effects of cap by reducing overall exposure to cap during training."
Contact the author of this story at moc.l1669759694labto1669759694ofdlr1669759694owedi1669759694sni@n1669759694osloh1669759694cin.l1669759694uap1669759694
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