| This study analyzed the prevalence of heading and concussions in 137 Region II ODP male soccer players. A questionnaire was developed by the researcher for this study. The percentage of concussions that occurred during a heading attempt, as well as the object struck causing the concussion, were determined. Additionally, the variables of position, length of competitive soccer career, age that heading began, and total number of concussions over the athlete's soccer career were also evaluated.;There was no significant difference between the forwards, midfielders, and defenders in the average number of headers per practice or game. There was also no significant difference in the number of concussions sustained by players of each position, including goalkeepers. Likewise, there was no significant difference between the number of concussions sustained by players in each age group.;For the concussions reported, 71% occurred during heading attempts. The duration of symptoms ranged from a few seconds to three weeks, with a median time of 30 minutes. The time that each athlete remained out of activity after injury ranged from no time to three weeks, with a median time of zero. The most frequent object struck to cause concussions in this study was the ball (40.8%), followed by another player's head (29%), the ground (8.9%), another player's upper extremity (7.7%), another player's lower extremity (7.1%), and the goalpost (6.5%).;There was not a significant relationship between the age that heading began and the total number of concussions over the athlete's soccer career. There was however a significant moderately positive correlation between the average number of headers reported per game and the number of concussions sustained over the past year. The relationship between average number of headers reported per practice and the number of concussions experienced over the previous year was not significant.;The researcher also established a dramatic underestimation of MTBIs when the word "concussion" is used in self-reporting. This may be due in part to purposeful concealment by the athlete, or to the lack of understanding of the nature of concussions in sports by athletes, coaches, and parents. |
