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 Some of the five headgear models used in the trial, however, may
have been better at reducing impact forces that lead to concussions,
particularly among female players, the study authors report in the
British Journal of Sports Medicine.
"Female soccer is late to the party in terms of recognizing the
number of injuries. So much focus has been on football that we
haven't recognized that females are more at risk for knee injuries
and concussions," said Timothy McGuine of the University of
Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison, who led
the study.
High school female soccer players have about double the rate of
concussions as males, he said, and based on participation numbers,
that's about the same rate reported among football players.
"Athletic trainers at schools have been saying this for years, but
we couldn't get people to take it seriously," he told Reuters Health
in a phone interview. "Now parents tell us their daughters have
experienced two or three concussions during a season and missed a
month of school."
Few studies have looked at the efficacy of protective headgear
during soccer practices and matches, especially among high school
athletes, McGuine noted. So, he and his colleagues studied 2,766
high school players, two thirds of them girls, over two academic
years.
The researchers assigned about half the teams to wear headgear
during an entire season while the rest did not. Individuals were
allowed to choose which headgear model to wear from among five
models that met American Society for Testing Materials International
standards and were approved for use by the National Federation of
State High School Associations.
Licensed athletic trainers at the schools recorded information about
concussions and other injuries.
Overall, there were 130 sport-related concussions during the study,
with 108 of these in girls. Twelve participants, including 11 girls,
were medically disqualified from soccer for the rest of the season.
The others spent about five days in a return-to-play protocol and
missed about 13 days from soccer during a season.
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But there was no difference in rates of sport-related concussions
among those who wore headgear and those who didn't. The number of
days lost due to sport-related concussion also didn't differ between
the groups.
"Most safety devices haven't been studied beyond a company's lab
settings," McGuine said. "We weren't able to formally study the
brands, but we did see a discrepancy in the rates between different
headgear."
About the same number of players wore a model called the Storelli
ExoShield, for example, as wore one called the Ultra Forcefield
Sweatband, but half as many concussions were among players wearing
the Storelli model.
Future studies will need more in-depth analysis of different types
of headgear, which can become expensive to test, McGuine said.
Researchers and national soccer associations should work together to
discuss rule changes and technique changes to help high school
athletes reduce these injuries and concussions in the first place,
he added, both for high school teams and local club teams.
"Many schools are required to have athletic trainers who can
recognize concussions, but there's no mandate for clubs to do that,
and we're finding two-thirds of girls don't have access to the
safety or care that they need," he said. "As a parent, ask your
coaches if they're aware of this and if they do baseline testing."
As studies continue, parents should consider the risks of
sport-related concussion versus the benefits of physical activity
and team participation, said Doug Martini of Oregon Health and
Science University in Portland, who wasn't involved in the study
In his own research looking at long-term issues after high school
concussions, he didn't consistently find long-lasting effects,
Martini notes. As heading techniques change and concussion protocols
improve, the benefits of sport will likely outweigh the risks, he
added.
SOURCE: https://bit.ly/2J9Qdp0 British Journal of Sports Medicine,
online May 14, 2019.
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