Heading and Cognitive Performance in Female Collegiate Soccer Players

There is conflicting information about the safety of heading by soccer players because of the potential deleterious effects of accumulated subconcussive blows. The purpose of this study is to examine whether there are short-term or longer-term cognitive effects of repeated subconcussive impacts in collegiate female soccer players. The relationship between number of headers and cognitive processing was examined in collegiate female soccer players over the course of a typical soccer season. Analyses revealed no significant changes in cognitive function across the soccer season for the athletes as individuals or as a group. Results suggest that frequency of headers do not have a measurable impact on cognitive performance.