Is playing soccer bad for the brain?

Contact sports such as rugby, boxing or ice hockey are known to, if not take due protection, they can damage our brain because of the blows that are received in them.

Many players in these sports have developed dementias and mental disorders associated with brain injuries that have caused all kinds of psychiatric symptoms at the end of their life.

Although football is not considered a contact sport, its popularity has made us wonder if it can cause problems for our brain, since impacts are also received in the head. Is playing soccer bad for the brain? This is the question that we are going to answer next.

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Is playing soccer bad for the brain?

The practice of sports has always been recommended. All sports activity is healthy, enhancing our physical and mental health since, in addition to keeping us in good shape, being physically active is a protective factor against mental disorders such as depression or anxiety and also helps prevent the onset of brain diseases such as dementias.

But despite its advantages, the practice of contact sports such as rugby, ice hockey or boxing has been associated with brain injuries and, in the long term, with neurodegenerative diseases. It is not that these sports are bad for our health, but if they are practiced in an unresponsible and cautious way, they can lead to concussions that end in brain damage..

Football (the European, the football of a lifetime) is undoubtedly the king of sports. It is practiced worldwide and, although there are countries in which it is not so famous, practically almost every nation in the world has its own national team for this sport. Although it is not a contact sport, their popularity and the fact that they sometimes shake their heads has made many wonder if playing football is bad for the brain.

As with contact sports, it's not that soccer in itself is bad. The practice of any sport is healthy but all of them involve certain risks that, if you take the appropriate appropriate safety measures, the possible damage that may be suffered due to impacts to the head will be more mild. If it occurs, it will be necessary to follow up the affected footballer to make sure that his neurological damage does not go further.

Fortunately, to avoid the gravity associated with these blows, many professional sports have approved the use of regulatory protective equipment, in addition to following rules and playing appropriately to avoid injury. However, football is not characterized by having protection for the skull, although the head to throw the ball which, if done with great force, can be a problem for our brain.

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Chronic traumatic encephalopathy

Throughout the 20th century, impacts to the head produced during sports have been increasingly associated with dementias, brain diseases and mental disorders. One of the first terms used to associate impact sports with brain damage was boxing dementia, identified for the first time in boxing players although later its diagnosis would be extended to other contact sports.

Today this term is no longer in use, being replaced by chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which is about a neurodegenerative condition in which the brain of the affected person has such damage due to the blows that he has received in life that several psychiatric conditions are induced. It is this degenerative condition considered to be the main culprit that athletes Contact sports professionals have higher death rates from dementia than the normal population.

The countless number of times boxers, rugby, hockey, and football players receive blows to the head, despite having protection, is presumably responsible for their increased risk of neurodegenerative diseases, such as motor neuron disease or Parkinson.

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy can only be diagnosed post mortem. In life, those affected by this brain destruction manifest a wide range of symptoms. Memory problems, irritability, mood disorders, anger attacks, substance abuse, executive dysfunctions, and more problems are those that mark the day to day of many retired athletes who in their later years enter a maelstrom of problems psychiatric.

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Are concussions important in soccer?

Unlike what it may seem, the brain is not made of rubber, but of jelly. It is a tremendously soft organ that, despite being protected by a hard wall of cranial bone, is not saved from being damaged when there is a very strong blow. The brain is floating in cerebrospinal fluid, which gives it some freedom to movement that, when there is a cranial impact, causes it to rebound inside the skull, which can lead to injuries cortical.

It is enough with a fall or a hard blow to the head for our brain to hit the walls of the skull and form brain bruising, tears in blood vessels, nerve damage, or a loss of normal brain function both short and long term. These falls and head blows usually occur in footballers with field positions, who can pass the ball with their head or collide with each other and fall receiving a severe blow to the head.

In football, falls and blows to the head are rather anecdotal, rare when compared to contact sports. It is true that more than one professional footballer has had to be withdrawn from the field due to a bad blow, but they are not something frequent and, if rest once they have been suffered, leaving the brain time to recover, these impacts are hardly going to turn into dementia future.

However, there are cases of professional footballers whose death is associated with having received many concussions. An example of this is the former English footballer Jeff Astle (1942-2002), West Bromwich player. Willie Steward, a British physician, indicated in a report that Astle, who died with Alzheimer's at age 59, he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy as a result of the countless concussions he must have suffered in life. Jeff Astle was known as an expert on passing the ball with his head.

Despite the Astle case, everything seems to indicate that serious brain injuries are rare in football, although they are important. It should be said that the probability of suffering them varies according to the position one has on the field, with the players with the lowest risk of suffering concussions being the goalkeepers with a risk equivalent to a third of the risk presented by the rest of the players, who run from here to there and can collide with each other others.

In a recent study carried out by the group of Emma R. Russell and colleagues (2021) found that the risk of developing a neurodegenerative disease was about 3.5 times higher in former professional footballers than in the general population. The risk was also found to be higher among all outfield player positions, with the highest among defenders who had a 5 times higher risk compared to the population general. There was a correlation between the chances of presenting dementias and the length of the soccer player's professional career.

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What are the signs and symptoms of a concussion?

There are several signs and symptoms that can tell us that we are having a concussion while playing soccer. Symptoms of a concussion do not always appear immediately after the impact is givenThat is why it is convenient to be careful and assess how strong the blow has been. Among the symptoms associated with a concussion and that should concern us we have:

• Headache
• Dizziness, nausea, and vomiting
• Balance or coordination problems
• Blurry vision
• Speaks little fluently, slurring words and saying nonsensical things
• Confusion and lightheadedness
• Lack of concentration and inability to make decisions
• Memory problems
• Sleep problems: drowsiness, difficulty falling asleep, insomnia ...
• Sleeping more or less than usual
• Anxiety and irritability
• Depressive symptoms

Many of these symptoms coincide with those of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, only in this case they would appear after an occasional hit on the field of play. Likewise, to prevent this from evolving into long-term encephalopathy It is advisable to rest for a while, returning to play soccer only when a qualified professional recommends it. after having reviewed our state of mental health.

Concussions are very delicate and, although the person who has suffered them may have the feeling that he is better, all precautions are little. He may no longer have a headache or give him the feeling that he is speaking fluently, but there may still be problems with coordination, balance, and speed of thought. Only a doctor can know for sure.

But despite this, which is even common sense, the truth is that many players, both football and other sports, have fear of disappointing their team or coach, feeling pressured to go back to playing sports even if they are not yet recovered. It is for this reason that in most of the regulated and professional leagues of sports such as soccer, rugby, basketball and so on, there are rules about when players who have been diagnosed with concussion.

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How to prevent concussions in soccer?

At this point, we can understand that the answer to whether playing soccer is bad for the brain is "it depends." It depends on how we play this sport, if we take the appropriate measures to prevent concussions, if they occur, from going to more.

If we protect ourselves, follow the rules and behave with sportsmanship and calm, all that will mean us playing soccer will be having a good time with our friends while doing physical activity, beneficial for our Health.

Next we will see some ways to prevent concussions, both in soccer and any other sport, with or without commonly contact.

1. Wear the right gear

It is vitally important to wear the right equipment when playing any type of sport, not just soccer. In the case of this sport it is true that there are no helmets or head protectors, because normally it is not expected to receive a great impact on the skull.

However, since passes can also be made with the head, it is essential that the ball is of good quality, not too hard and not too old.

You can't completely prevent concussions because there will always be falls and bumps, but at least the right material helps prevent serious injury.

2. Play safely

It is always preferable to pass the ball with the feet rather than with the head, even if the game allows it. Don't take unnecessary risks and try to always prioritize the use of the legs, limiting the passes with the head.

Also, play with sportsmanship, do not push or try to make the players of the rival team fall because although you think that they will receive the impact, it may be that by cheating you will also receive part of the impact too.

3. Stop when necessary

If you injure your head while playing soccer, stop playing immediately. The coach should know when one of the players should stop playing to avoid serious injury.

In case it is a match without a coach, between friends and friendly, do it for yourself. Your health is above the result of the match and you should not risk injuring your head a second time.

A second injury to the brain may lead to second impact syndrome. which, although rare, can cause permanent brain damage and even death.

If you feel a bit dizzy, ask a friend or other player to watch you by sitting next to you for a few minutes and, if necessary, accompany you to the emergency room to make sure there is no brain injury serious.