The focus on concussion effects for athletes switched from football to soccer in August when a group of soccer parents and players filed a class-action lawsuit in California.
The suit, which named soccer’s international governing body FIFA as defendant, along with US Soccer and the American Youth Soccer Organization, isn’t seeking monetary damages but seeks rule changes to protect young players from the lasting effects of head injuries.
Some of the rule changes would include limiting how many times younger players can head the ball and more substitutions to allow players to be given a medical check after collisions, which would cost nothing to implement. It would also provide for medical testing for current and former players at all levels of competition, though, which could come with a price tag similar to the $675 million settlement the NFL reached with its current and past players earlier this year.
While there is debate on whether the suit will be successful, it has already increased awareness of head injuries in young athletes, said Dr. Michael Miller, the medical director of St. Elizabeth Sports Medicine.
“We’re learning more about sports concussions all the time, which is a good thing. Athletes are more aware, coaches are more aware. Parents are more aware,” he said, “and we’re taking more precautions than we did even five years ago.”
Heading the ball has been a major focus in soccer-related concussions, including post-mortem study of soccer players’ brains that have found increased damage. Girls have a higher incidence rate, too, though the reason is still unclear.
Heading isn’t the only culprit, though.
“The majority of concussions I’ve seen aren’t caused by ball-to-head impacts,” said Miller, who staffs local high school games. “Most are head-to-head, players going for the ball and colliding, or getting hit in the head with an elbow or another body part. There’s also a lot of head-to-ground collisions.”
“The big misconception is that is has to be one event,” Miller added. “Parents will say they don’t remember a big hit or their athlete falling, but sometimes it can be the result of accumulative effects – if they have what we call sub-concussive events, smaller collisions over the course of a game or several events over the course of a week.”
Loss of consciousness isn’t always involved, either, he added.
Miller said there are “tells” that your athlete may be suffering concussion effects:
- Lasting headaches
- Dizziness or a problem with equilibrium
- Confusion
- Affected speech (slurred or slow speech)
- Memory problems
- Complaints of feeling “foggy”
“Parents need to keep an eye on their athletes and changes in behavior. If they suspect something is wrong, get them checked out before they hit the field again,” Miller said.
