This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Citing articles on ISI (1)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Topic Collections  • Sports Medicine  • Alert me on articles by topic

William F. Reed, MD; Kenneth W. Feldman, MD; Avery H. Weiss, MD; Alan F. Tencer, PhD

Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2002;156:337-340.

Objectives  To define forces of youth soccer ball heading (headers) and determine whether heading causes retinal hemorrhage.

Setting  Regional Children's Hospital, youth soccer camp.

Patients  Male and female soccer players, 13 to 16 years old, who regularly head soccer balls.

Measurements  Dilated retinal examination, after 2-week header diary, and accelerometer measurement of heading a lofted soccer ball.

Results  Twenty-one youth soccer players, averaging 79 headers in the prior 2 weeks, and 3 players who did not submit header diaries lacked retinal hemorrhage. Thirty control subjects also lacked retinal hemorrhage. Seven subjects heading the ball experienced linear cranial accelerations of 3.7 ± 1.3g. Rotational accelerations were negligible.

Conclusions  Headers, not associated with globe impact, are unlikely to cause retinal hemorrhage. Correctly executed headers did not cause significant rotational acceleration of the head, but incorrectly executed headers might.

From the School of Medicine (Drs Reed, Feldman, Weiss, and Tencer), Departments of Pediatrics (Dr Feldman), Ophthalmology (Dr Weiss), Orthopedics (Dr Tencer), and Sports Medicine (Dr Tencer), University of Washington, The Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center (Drs Feldman and Weiss), and the Harborview Injury Prevention Center (Dr Tencer), Seattle, and the Sacred Heart Hospital, Internal Medicine Residency Program (Dr Reed), Spokane, Wash.

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

The mechanism and prevention of soccer eye injuries
Vinger and Capao Filipe
Br. J. Ophthalmol. 2004;88:167-168.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

From the Library
Br. J. Ophthalmol. 2002;86:1195-1195.
FULL TEXT  

Is It Always OK to "Use Your Head"?
JWatch Pediatrics 2002;2002:12-12.
FULL TEXT  

No Evidence That Soccer Ball Heading Leads to Retinal Bleeding in Adolescents
JWatch General 2002;2002:8-8.
FULL TEXT