Posted on 11/29/2011 5:04:07 AM PST by decimon
CHICAGO – Using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to study the effects of soccer 'heading,' researchers have found that players who head the ball with high frequency have brain abnormalities similar to those found in traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients. Results of their study were presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
Heading, in which players field the soccer ball with their head, is an essential part of the game and the focus of many training drills.
"Heading a soccer ball is not an impact of a magnitude that will lacerate nerve fibers in the brain," said Michael L. Lipton, M.D., Ph.D., associate director of the Gruss Magnetic Resonance Research Center at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and medical director of MRI services at Montefiore Medical Center in New York. "But repetitive heading could set off a cascade of responses that can lead to degeneration of brain cells."
DTI, an advanced magnetic resonance (MR) technique, allows researchers to assess microscopic changes in the brain's white matter, which is composed of millions of nerve fibers called axons that act like communication cables connecting various regions of the brain. DTI produces a measurement, called fractional anisotropy (FA), of the movement of water molecules along axons. In healthy white matter, the direction of water movement is fairly uniform and measures high in FA. When water movement is more random, FA values decrease.
"Abnormally low FA within white matter has been associated with cognitive impairment in patients with TBI," Dr. Lipton said.
(Excerpt) Read more at eurekalert.org ...
Soccer balls will be taxed like cigarettes.
Yes that's it, now I see, think of the possibilities, the gov’t could tax soccer balls, adding an additional saftety tax at the retail level, then the IRS could hire additional agents to be present at every practice and game to count how many times a ball is headed or kicked, whereby the sponsors of teams can be taxed accordingly, then the IRS agent would count the number of times an individual child handled the ball so the parents could be taxed, and so on.
All taxes collected would be used to support research into further development of soccer safety, any tax proceeds left over can be used to benefit children around the world who have had any soccer related injuries.
This is absolutely what gov’t can do and will do with the help of the ACLU, and other concerned so-called american groups.
With few exceptions, most of the libs that profess to like soccer have never come close to actually playing the game (or any sport for that matter). They just became a fan because they think it shows how “worldly” they are. Most of them would pass out in the first 10 minutes if they sat in the crowd for an actual league game over in Europe.
This study was paid for by, “Keep Our Own Kids Safe.”
Boring? Maybe, you shouldn’t watch it.
It is becoming quite popular though. Soccer now has passed the NBA and now has third place in average attendance.
Rush is always ahead of the curve.
Yes Rush, you told us so.
I guess there’s finally a game Americans aren’t tough enough to play.
For any of you sissies who will howl at this statement, I invite you to come over and play. Bring your mommmies.
Interviewer From the plastic arts we turn to football. Last night in the Stadium of Light, Jarrow, we witnessed the resuscitation of a great footballing tradition, when Jarrow United came of age, in a European sense, with an almost Proustian display of modern existentialist football. Virtually annihilating by midfield moral argument the now surely obsolescent catennachio defensive philosophy of Signor Alberto Fanffino. Bologna indeed were a side intellectually out argued by a Jarrow team thrusting and bursting with aggressive Kantian positivism and outstanding in this fine Jarrow team was my man of the match, the arch-thinker, free scheming, scarcely ever to be curbed, midfield cognoscento, Jimmy Buzzard.
Buzzard Good evening Brian.
Interviewer Jimmy, at least one ageing football commentator was gladdened last night by the sight of an English footballer breaking free of the limpid tentacles of packed Mediterranean defence.
Buzzard Good evening Brian.
Interviewer Were you surprised at the way the Italians ceded midfield dominance so early on in the game?
Buzzard Well Brian... I’m opening a boutique.
Interviewer This is of course symptomatic of a new breed of footballer as it is indeed symptomatic of your whole genre of player, is it not?
Buzzard Good evening Brian.
Interviewer What I’m getting at, Jimmy, is you seem to have discovered a new concept with a mode in which you dissected the Italian defence, last night.
Buzzard (pauses for thought) I hit the ball first time and there it was in the back of the net. (smiles and looks around)
Interviewer Do you think Jarrow will adopt a more defensive posture for the first leg of the next tie in Turkey?
Buzzard (confidently) I hit the ball first time and there it was in the back of the net.
Interviewer Yes, yes - but have you any plans for dealing with the free-scoring Turkish forwards?
Buzzard Well Brian... I’m opening a boutique.
LOL--The reason your doc was OK with football is prolly because his brother-in-law is an orthopedist.
Anyway, on a more serious note, I said no to football. (My brother wrecked his knees playing.) Both sons played ice hockey instead. Grade school thru their senior year in HS. Fortunately, no injuries/ no trips to the ER or even the doc.
head it right and it’s alright.
in your view much like the two billion people who watch the sport would think the NFL is boring when you watch a play for 5 seconds and then wait 2 minutes for the next 5 sec play.
Of course everyone has their view on what sports they like.
I believe watching soccer causes brain damage. On second thought...maybe you must have brain damage to want to watch soccer.
my youngest aged 8 has been accepted into a pro clubs acadamy and there were the usual useful fool parents there and one said “ parents have no clue about this sport, what we need is more breaks for the kids”
I kid you not .
Most who hate a sport have never played that sport and lets me honest, America on the whole have no clue about soccer , the rules, the history, the traditions or how a club was formed over a hundred years ago.
When the world cup was on there was a group of us and most had never played it but started to get into the sport as America did alright.
Once we got knocked out those in the group then said this sport is stupid etc.
agreed.
Maybe there isn’t enough breaks to have some hotdogs and burgers.
Imagine kids now having to wear helmets? It goes to show how some want their kids to be big sissy’s.
Like FIFA would ever allow helmets anyway. Maybe that is the problem . FIFA dictate the rules or decisions not that I like all the rules or Blatter but at least there isn’t one country deciding how the world should play a sport
If you are referring to MLS games, I would agree...but EPL Matches are crackers.
over 2 billion people must have it then YIKES.
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