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- #21
Something I hadn't thought of. I can see how this could become an issue like handball and offside. The millimetre police get involved and the whole reason for the rule is completely forgotten.
[Football] Heading and brain damage
- Thread starter nickjhs
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- Thread starter
- #22
As I understand it head protection doesn't do a lot to protect the brain from a shock to the skull.
I never liked heading the ball either, it's bloody hard. And just as heavy as the old balls were when dry, which although I'm not old enough to remember, they must have been for a substantial portion of any individual player's career (probably most of the time when you include practise and training).
Cheeky Monkey
Well-known member
- Jul 17, 2003
- 23,884
As proven in the numerous cases of CTE in the NFL. They scrabbled around desperately trying to protect the NFL brand by coming up with various designs of 'safer' helmet, all of which were proven useless against the impact/shock to the head.
Mustafa II
Well-known member
I'm sure such technologically could be developed, if it doesn't exist already.
I believe you are correct. Amateur boxing introduced headguards sometime in the mid-80s. About ten years ago they scrapped them again (for senior men anyway) as they discovered they had made no difference with regard to shocks to the skull. Also they had increased some injuries as punches that would have missed the naked head would catch the guard and shake the head anyway.
- Oct 20, 2022
- 6,941
Ban for U11s in all training and youth games is fine and already recently implemented
Parental consent should required for U18s
After that, short of banning it completely (which I don’t agree with ) all adult players should be give the choice whether they head the ball or not as part of their football repertoire without fear of discrimination or condemnation.
One way to minimise the risk without impacting too much on the game could be to have a rule that disallows any deliberate contact with the head outside the 18 yard box. Further restrictions in training, more regular scans and tests as routine fitness screening and better access/resources for information about the medical impacts of repetitive head trauma.
As for developing protective technology, the Woodpecker and Shrimps might provide the answer
www.scientificamerican.com
Parental consent should required for U18s
After that, short of banning it completely (which I don’t agree with ) all adult players should be give the choice whether they head the ball or not as part of their football repertoire without fear of discrimination or condemnation.
One way to minimise the risk without impacting too much on the game could be to have a rule that disallows any deliberate contact with the head outside the 18 yard box. Further restrictions in training, more regular scans and tests as routine fitness screening and better access/resources for information about the medical impacts of repetitive head trauma.
As for developing protective technology, the Woodpecker and Shrimps might provide the answer
Head-Banging Woodpeckers Could Give Themselves a Concussion Every Day: Here's How They Avoid It
These avian tree drillers do tricks to protect their noggin. Meanwhile snapping shrimp avoid the problem with external eye goggles
True, but so was handling the ball until the FA made it illegal. The brand of football known as soccer was created with the formation of the FA in 1863, (the English didn't invent football, but they did invent soccer and rugby), and for the first decade catching the ball with one's hands was permitted, like in Rugby football (the difference then was that by that time, running with the ball was allowed in rugby, whereas in soccer one had to kick it after catching it, as had previously also been the case with rugby prior to Webb Ellis's famous innovation). Catching the ball wasn't prohibited in soccer until the 1870s (I can't remember offhand exactly which year, but I think it was still allowed in 1872 when the FA Cup was first contested). Decades of tweaking of the laws of the game on both sides have evolved the originally very similar games of rugby and soccer away from each other.
Just checked:
1870 – All handling of the ball is forbidden (previously, players had been allowed to catch the ball). Teams change ends at half-time, but only if no goals were scored in the first half. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laws_of_the_Game_(association_football)
Cheeky Monkey
Well-known member
- Jul 17, 2003
- 23,884
It can't. It's basic science.
Mustafa II
Well-known member
It's not basic science, it's advanced science - which is why there is not an obvious solution at hand.
Head protection already exists that reduces brain damage upon impact. It's certainly possible to completely eliminate it through technological means as well, in respect of heading a football.
The problem will surely be designing such head protection that would be appropriate for football, as they can't go around wearing industrial hard hat type things, surely - but with modern science & tech and materials, scientists could do a job, but it might change the sport somewhat.
US Seagull
Well-known member
Maybe that's the solution? Ban heading, but bring back handling the ball. No catching, but let players punch it?
[Note: I'm not 100% serious here, but maybe I'm not 0% either]
Like Maradona in '86.
Could lead to players missing the ball and connecting with someone's face, though.
US Seagull
Well-known member
Exactly!
Probably overall less damaging that a head-to-head collision though, assuming it's not a deliberate punch at somebody's face.
dsr-burnley
Well-known member
- Aug 15, 2014
- 2,634
The big difference with the NFL is that a common way of tackling a running back who is running with his head down, is to put your head down and ram him full speed helmet-to-helmet. Which must be far more concussive than a deliberate controlled header of the ball.
What I don't understand, though the scientists might, is that a player is basically never knocked out when he sees the ball wellied at him and heads it away. But he can be knocked out when the ball his him less hard but he hasn't seen it coming. Somehow the skull/brain can brace itself if it knows what's coming. Does that similarly reduce the damage re. dementia, or does it make no difference?
I suppose soccer could split again, similar to the way "football" split into rugby, soccer and American football, and how rugby split into Union and League. There'd be soccer as it is now with heading, and another type of punching soccer without heading.
This. The right sort of helmet. Possibly lighter balls.
Also, the sort of water-absorbing leather monstrosity headed by Jeff Astle is a thing of the past.
- Thread starter
- #38
So what you are saying is that since 1863 heading has been allowed, as far as I can tell it became more widespread after handling was banned. I would call that pretty much integral to the game as it is now. However that most likely will have to be changed and the game will change with it.
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- #39
How? The brain essentially floats inside the skull connected to the body via the stem. Any shock to the head will cause the brain to hit the inside of the casing. Its simple physics.
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- #40
It can't, unless you are going to fix the brain so that it doesn't move inside the skull. It's not so much the force of the hit being transferred through the skull to the brain, it the fact that the brain floats inside the skull. Think of a person inside a car, in a crash unless the body is secured to the car it will crash into the car because the body continues with the same momentum but the momentum of the car has changed. Hence seatbelts and airbags