Head injuries are a sensitive topic in sports. Whether football or boxing - the media reports about sports stars who suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) or "boxer's syndrome" and who died earlier than their peers have increased rapidly in recent years. This is based on research findings from the respective sports - which shows that dangers also lurk in football. 

Prof. Dr. Joachim Hermsdörfer, head of the Chair of Human Movement Science, and his team are investigating the "Influence of headers in football on brain function and structure in women". In an interview with the NDR health magazine VISITE on Tuesday, July 11, 2023, the movement scientist explained the risks arising from headers. 

Female footballers are at particular risk of injury. The neck muscles, in particular, are often less pronounced than in men. Still, other physical components also play a role: "On average, women have a smaller head than men, which is accordingly somewhat lighter. When an object with a certain speed hits a lighter object, the effect is, therefore, greater," Hermsdörfer explains in the TV report. 

For two years, the scientists from the Chair of Human Movement Science studied two Munich women's teams with 28 female footballers. No significant results were found in cognitive tests with headers. However, the female footballers showed subtle deteriorations in individual non-cognitive aspects such as fine motor skills and balance performance. "You have to conduct the study over a longer period to know at the end whether the player with the most or strongest headers develops the biggest problem," Hermsdörfer explains the fundamental problem.

In England, an awareness campaign about the risks of headers has also begun - four players from the 1966 World Champions' team alone have already died of dementia. However, Prof. Hermsdörfer is critical about whether headers were the cause and whether the results can be transferred one-to-one to today's conditions: "It is difficult to assess whether it was due to headers. Back then, the balls were also made of leather and were much heavier. The question is whether these figures can be transferred to today's footballers."
 

To the homepage of the Chair of Human Movement Science

To the TV report "Headballs in women's football" of the NDR magazine VISITE

Contact:

Prof. Dr. Joachim Hermsdörfer
Chair of Human Movement Science
Georg-Brauchle Ring 60/62
80992 München

phone: 089 289 24550
e-Mail: joachim.hermsdoerfer(at)tum.de

Text: Bastian Daneyko
Photo: NDR