Immediate effects of an acute bout of repeated soccer heading on cognitive performance

Purpose: There has been a growing concern surrounding the harmful effects of soccer heading on cognitive function. The present study aims to examine the immediate effects of heading. Methods: 30 recreational male soccer players were divided into three groups that undertook 20 consecutive headers with a soft (8.8 psi), hard (16.2 psi), or no (control) ball. All groups completed a battery of neuropsychological tests before and after the heading intervention: King-Devick, trail-making (TM) (A and B), digit span (DS) and spatial span (SS) (forward and backward). Results: Significant increase in the time (M = 4.44 s) and errors (M = 1.45) for the King-Devick test within the hard and soft groups, although there was no significant difference for TM-A and TM-B. Significant decline for SS forward within the hard and soft groups (M = -16%), although the declines for SS backward (M = -16%), DS forward (M = -23%) and DS backward (M = -25%) were present only for the hard group (ps < .05). Discussion: While outside of regular match-play, this study showed that heading negatively influenced participants in terms of one of the indicators of a suspected concussion (King-Devick), as well as working memory (DS, SS) that is essential for daily life. These findings contribute to the growing research on heading with a view to informing safety guidelines and regulation