The relationship between header type and head acceleration during heading in male youth football players

Objective

To explore head impact magnitude (linear head acceleration and rotational velocity) during heading for four different header types in youth male footballers. A secondary objective was to explore whether head impact magnitude was influenced by player-related factors (i.e. age, neck strength).

Design

An observational field-based research design was utilised for this research.

Participants

27 youth male footballers (mean age14.81, SD1.88) from one football club.

Main outcome measures

Peak linear acceleration and peak angular velocity were measured during four different header types (two from 15-m and two from 5-m). Maximal isometric neck strength of each player was also assessed (flexors, extensors, left and right-side flexors).

Results

Statistically significant differences were observed between header type and both peak linear acceleration (F(3,78) = 60.90, R² = 0.76, p=<0.001) and peak angular velocity (F(3,78) = 43.63, R² = 0.75, p=<0.001). In terms of players related factors, for linear acceleration, 6% (P = 0.008) of the variance was predicted by age, and for angular velocity, 12% (P = 0.003) was predicted by age, with neck strength accounting for <9% of the variance.

Conclusions

In this youth cohort, head impact magnitude during heading is influenced by the type of header being performed.