20 May 2018 11:10:09
Hi Eds and fellow reds,

Not a rumour or specifically Liverpool related but it's about all of the long term damage from heading the ball and the seemingly indisputable relation to dementia in older players. I see it's getting more and more coverage but nothing seems to be changing? Surely now is the time to get the younger kids getting the technique right and doing what we can to prevent future generations suffering from long term damage.
I saw this company called Headrite who seem to be doing some serious research into it but they seem small. Anyone have any info on them or if this is something that Liverpool F. C. or football in the wider sense are looking at seriously?

Sorry for the long post but it's an area that interests me a lot.


1.) 20 May 2018
20 May 2018 11:26:19
Very interesting actually, it's something I know absolutely nothing about but it interests me too, I'll read more on it before commenting further. Ed1 is probably the right man to talk to about this kind of stuff, the man is a walking football encyclopedia.

{Ed001's Note - the thing to look at is other sports, particularly American football, as there is a lot of research into the damage caused by head injuries. They are way ahead of the rest of sports at the moment.}


2.) 20 May 2018
20 May 2018 11:46:20
Their is a will smith movie name concussion which is basically on it on rugby player. Anyone who wish to check out.


3.) 20 May 2018
20 May 2018 11:48:29
I don’t really think there is much you can do about it. Repeated blows to the head will cause damage from minor undetectable damage to debilitating chronic health needs.

You can reduce the damage by introducing some kind of head protection I suppose.


4.) 20 May 2018
20 May 2018 12:18:28
Thanks Ed1 - always a positive response from you regardless of the questions on here!

From what I see, there’s not enough focus on the correct technique and we need to get the kids/ underage squads improving on technique with lighter balls or training frames and hopefully over time it will help.
I suppose I was expecting top clubs to be a lot further in their training or developing this area than they are. Maybe there isn’t a real acceptance yet that heading footballs can cause real damage. and people think it’s the higher impact of American football/ rugby is all that contributes to these long term injuries.

{Ed001's Note - Jeff Astle's family have a charity that is supporting research into the links between heading a football and damage to the brain. Football itself is not really doing a lot though.}


5.) 20 May 2018
20 May 2018 16:37:57
3 close members of my family have had forms of Dementia or Alzheimer's. I know first hand the horrors it can bring. None of them had any head trauma in their life. These types of illness don't necessarily need anything to spawn them. I, personally am not convinced that there is much to be concerned about in football as opposed to life itself being the catalyst for the these conditions. I wish the Astle family all the luck they need in their quest but I hope the answer they seek is that there is no link and that they are not just looking for something to blame. As I said, I know exactly how horrible it is to face these things. At the end of the day, you have realise terrible ships happen.


6.) 20 May 2018
20 May 2018 18:57:24
There are some research on heading and long term head injuries, and there seems to be a small connection. Introducing headgear has been tried out, and there seem to be little help from the headgear. The biggest problem in football and head injuries seems to be head to head impacts and elbows to the head, hence the recent changes in rules. The medical straff and researchers would like the punishment for elbows to the head to be more severe, but there is some resistance from the FA and similar commities in other countries, and some resistance from the Referees and their governing commities.

Care of the athlete after headinjuries are important, rest is very important, but that is something that competes with the importance to get the player to play matches as soon as possible, and there are more difficult to decide when the player is fullt renovered after a concussion than after most other injuries.

{Ed002's Note - It may help to search on "Jeff Astle" and "heading".}


7.) 21 May 2018
21 May 2018 11:34:43
For all those doubting the damage caused, all research suggests at this point that repeated, lower impact blows cause just as much if not more long term damage as high impact, low volume collisions. Whether or not you 'believe' it, there is no serious medical/ scientific argument against the widely accepted fact that things like heading are detrimental to normal long term brain health. Whether or not anything can be done to change this within the sport is questionable - frankly, I think a lot of sports avoid an appropriate level of focus on their risk and dangers due to Europe and America's obesity epidemic which makes everyone wishing to change sports on medical grounds very nervous.


8.) 22 May 2018
22 May 2018 12:34:36
I agree with you. There is quite a significant amount of hard evidence from trustworthy sources which indicate long term damage from heading footballs. Anyone who disagrees should do some research into it.
But also, apart from the damage resulting from not being able to head the ball properly, improving technique will also improve players skill in this area. Having read more into Headrite and the work they seem to be doing along with some reputable academics, I think we could be on the verge of big change. hopefully anyway!