Heading the ball increases your risk of alzheimers disease.

Find it hard to believe that if you suffer repeated head trauma as a sportsman that it wont increase your risk of dementia.

Good job I'm only 5'4.

Can see this having a major impact on the game over the next few years. Not sure how this impacts with clubs as employers and duty of care. 

How many footballers actually get Alzheimer's though? A five times increase in risk sounds a lot, but if it goes from, say, a 0.001% chance to a 0.005% chance, it's still a very low risk overall. I wonder how the risk breaks down over time as well, I'd imagine in the days of more long ball football, and heavy leather balls that absorbed water the risk would be much higher than for modern players with much lighter balls and, relatively, more short passing along the ground. All sorts of other factors to consider too - there are many ways in which a player might sufferer head traumas in a match other than just heading a ball. Football, also, generally has a long way to go on its management of potential concussions - they shouldn't be treated as something that can be "run-off" but still often are.

That's true Blackpool, but I think it's something the football authorities need to be keeping any eye on. Given all the money sloshing around in the game, I think funding a long term study of players comparing development/progression in players who only started playing once the lightweight balls came in to those from earlier eras is worth doing, to establish how much an issue it still is.

Exiled_Addick said:

How many footballers actually get Alzheimer's though? A five times increase in risk sounds a lot, but if it goes from, say, a 0.001% chance to a 0.005% chance, it's still a very low risk overall. I wonder how the risk breaks down over time as well, I'd imagine in the days of more long ball football, and heavy leather balls that absorbed water the risk would be much higher than for modern players with much lighter balls and, relatively, more short passing along the ground. All sorts of other factors to consider too - there are many ways in which a player might sufferer head traumas in a match other than just heading a ball. Football, also, generally has a long way to go on its management of potential concussions - they shouldn't be treated as something that can be "run-off" but still often are.

The 0.001% you have guessed (and I know it's only for illustrative purposes) is actually closer to 12.5%.  One in eight people dies of Alzheimer's and dementia.  And, in terms of how many footballers get Alzheimer's, it's interesting to note that the lawyers for Jeff Astle's family (he died of the disease) have been contacted by more than 400 other families of footballers.  

Chizz said:

SELR_addicks said:

Not surprised. Repeated hits to the head in the long term can't be good. 

I'd go as far as to say any contact sport will have this issue. Football wouldn't be as bad as Rugby, American Football or Boxing for example. 

If you're heading the ball a lot in rugby, you're playing the game wrong. 

But, more seriously, obviously boxers receive more physically-damaging repeated blows to the head than those other three sports.  But I would put football in second place in that list.  

They may not head the ball but the risk in Rugby and A. Football from taking blows to the head during tackles is far higher than in football. 

ElfsborgAddick said:

Good job I'm only 5'4.

Balls on the Chin are your problem. 

ricky_otto said:

ElfsborgAddick said:

Good job I'm only 5'4.

Balls on the Chin are your problem. 

Actually that's what he prefers 

Chizz said:

Exiled_Addick said:

How many footballers actually get Alzheimer's though? A five times increase in risk sounds a lot, but if it goes from, say, a 0.001% chance to a 0.005% chance, it's still a very low risk overall. I wonder how the risk breaks down over time as well, I'd imagine in the days of more long ball football, and heavy leather balls that absorbed water the risk would be much higher than for modern players with much lighter balls and, relatively, more short passing along the ground. All sorts of other factors to consider too - there are many ways in which a player might sufferer head traumas in a match other than just heading a ball. Football, also, generally has a long way to go on its management of potential concussions - they shouldn't be treated as something that can be "run-off" but still often are.

The 0.001% you have guessed (and I know it's only for illustrative purposes) is actually closer to 12.5%.  One in eight people die of Alzheimer's and dementia.  And, in terms of how many footballers get Alzheimer's, it's interesting to note that the lawyers for Jeff Astle's family (he died of the disease) have been contacted by more than 400 other families of footballers.  

Well that why I asked the question, I genuinely don't know just how common Alzheimer's is. However if you're suggesting 62.5% of footballer get Alzheimer's/dementia, that does not sound correct.

ShootersHillGuru said:

New generation footballs are certainly better than previous incarnations but I would still suggest that repeated impacts on the skull particularly I would say for centre half’s where often they head a ball dropping a long way will still have the possibility of causing jarring of the brain.

100%.

Of course the old fashioned and original footballs would cause more damage because of the weight of them, but it could also be argued that there is actually more headers in the modern game now even with teams playing better football.

Essentially, weight doesn’t matter because it’s the repeated trauma to the skull and the brain that causes the damage.

Did anyone see the Alan Shearer Documentary a while back and how the brain moves and gets compressed when heading a football?

This is a serious matter and one that is only going to grow with more tests and knowledge. It isn’t going to go away. Even when you have to consider the various other factors that must be taken into account as well, technology being on of them, psychological well-being being another, the repeated trauma of any weight on the skull is going to take its toll.

Exiled_Addick said:

Chizz said:

Exiled_Addick said:

How many footballers actually get Alzheimer's though? A five times increase in risk sounds a lot, but if it goes from, say, a 0.001% chance to a 0.005% chance, it's still a very low risk overall. I wonder how the risk breaks down over time as well, I'd imagine in the days of more long ball football, and heavy leather balls that absorbed water the risk would be much higher than for modern players with much lighter balls and, relatively, more short passing along the ground. All sorts of other factors to consider too - there are many ways in which a player might sufferer head traumas in a match other than just heading a ball. Football, also, generally has a long way to go on its management of potential concussions - they shouldn't be treated as something that can be "run-off" but still often are.

The 0.001% you have guessed (and I know it's only for illustrative purposes) is actually closer to 12.5%.  One in eight people die of Alzheimer's and dementia.  And, in terms of how many footballers get Alzheimer's, it's interesting to note that the lawyers for Jeff Astle's family (he died of the disease) have been contacted by more than 400 other families of footballers.  

Well that why I asked the question, I genuinely don't know just how common Alzheimer's is. However if you're suggesting 62.5% of footballer get Alzheimer's/dementia, that does not sound correct.

The mortality rates show that one in eight dies from dementia. If the study's conclusions are right (I have no idea if they are, but no reason to disbelieve them) then 62.5% is a lot closer than 0.005%. 

And it's worth pointing out that footballers have better than average stats with regards to heart disease and cancer. So that large percentage begins to look more likely.

ValleyGary said:

The new research, which was led by Dr Willie Stewart, used databases of 7,676 pre and post-war Scottish league footballers who were aged 40 or over on Dec 31, 2016. Stewart’s team of investigators then studied their medical and death certification records and matched them against three people from the general population according to age, sex and demographic who had not played professional football. 

Its a good job then that footballs now are much better quality. They compress more on impact and don’t change weight in bad weather. 

This and as others have said or implied the research is potentially flawed as there has been marked changes in the footballs being used. As kids, I’m of that generation that played with leather footballs which, when wet, were like concrete. That’s the sort that Jeff Astle  would have been playing with as a kid and for most of his career. The footballs today don’t even compare. A few seasons ago a wayward shot came hurtling towards me when I was standing in the Covered End. I instinctively caught it bracing myself for the impact and was shocked that the thing was as light as a feather. Today’s generation of players are not going to have the problems of yesterday’s. The research is also comparing generations that had different diets and attitudes to injury which may well have impacted of their body’s ability to cope with any head trauma.