The journal Lancet Neurology published a research article prepared by Dr. Irina Martín-Izquierdo, a medical student at the University of Barcelona, and led by Dr. Alex Iranzo, neurologist at the Clínic, professor at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at the University of Barcelona and head of the IDIBAPS Clinical Neurophysiology research group. The presentation of the results was also attended by Dr. Josefina Castro, director of the Hospital Clínic Institute of Neurosciences, professor at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of the University of Barcelona, and head of the IDIBAPS Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology research group.
In this research, the number and frequency of head injuries was assessed through the detailed analysis of 120 videos of matches in 4 World Cups from the last 50 years. The 1974 World Cup in Germany, the 1990 World Cup in Italy, the 2006 World Cup in Germany and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
They found a significant increase in the number of ball headers and head collisions during this period: 4,478 impacts in the 1974 and 1990 tournaments, and 5,355 impacts during the 2006 and 2022 tournaments. There was an increase in the number of collisions between players (including elbow-to-head impacts), as well as in repeated ball headers.
In 33% of these collisions, medical treatment was required and, on 5 occasions, the players had to be taken off the pitch. All the cases occurred between 2006 and 2022. This is due to the fact that the style of play has evolved over the last 50 years in terms of aggressiveness, physical strength and competitiveness.
Previous epidemiological studies have shown that there is a higher incidence of different neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, ALS and REM sleep behaviour disorder in professional football players. It is thought that these neurological problems could be associated with these players’ repetitive exposure to impacts to the head during matches and training.
This earlier research evaluated football players who played professionally between the 1950s and the 1970s and who developed neurodegenerative diseases decades after retirement.
Therefore, the increased number of head impacts detected in this study suggests that the incidence of neurodegenerative disease could increase in coming years among elite football players.
Along these lines, the research group recently received two grants to follow up veteran football and rugby players, who will be assessed to detect the appearance of markers of latent neurodegenerative diseases.
Possible preventive measures
It has been estimated that professional football players engage in approximately 2,000 headers over a 20-year career. In 10 years in the profession, they have a 50% chance of having concussion due to a single head injury.
Some possible solutions for reducing this risk are to implement preventive measures. The proposed solutions include carrying out educational programmes, regulating the rules of play, and wearing protective equipment.
Study reference:
Irina Martín-Izquierdo, Mónica Serradell, Bernat Nadal, Irene Madurga, Alex Iranzo. Head impacts in elite professional football: a growing concern. Lancet Neurol. In Context Insight, Volume 23, Issue 11p1083-1084 November 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1474-4422(24)00403-4
