According to a recent study published in the medical journal, Radiology, it was found that among amateur players who headed a similar number of balls, women had more signs of microscopic damage in their brains’ white matter than men.
From 2013 to 2016, 49 men and 49 women from amateur teams were subjects to a study that compared male and female players who headed the ball a similar number of times over the past year. For men, that median estimate was 487 headers. Women had an estimated median of 469 headers.
Using a special MRI technique known as diffusion tensor imaging, researchers identified brain regions with changes in white matter in both sexes, but that more women that men had spots that showed signs of microscopic damage.
In some cases, those altered spots indicated possible damage to nerve cell axons and myelin – a protective coating that speeds neural signals along. In men, only three brain regions showed potential damage associated with heading frequency. In women, eight regions showed signs of damage with frequent heading.
The video below shows highlights of the brain in red and blue. In men’s brains, three regions (blue) showed an association between heading a football and potential white matter damage. One region (red) showed stronger white matter connections. Women fared worse, with eight regions (blue) showing associations between headers and potential white matter damage and one region (red) with stronger white matter connections.
Luckily, these brain changes weren’t enough to cause symptoms in the amateur football (soccer) players. But repeated blows to the brain can contribute to memory loss and chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a disorder found in professional football players, soldiers and others whose brains suffer repetitive trauma. In addition, the researchers don’t know why women’s brains appear more at risk, but it may be due to anatomical differences in heads and neck, along with genetics and hormones.
