Soccer players' head injury risk could be reduced with simple adjustments to the ball

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-11/pu-sph111220.php

 

News Release 12-Nov-2020
Purdue University

 

Up to 22% of soccer injuries are concussions that can result from players using their heads to direct the ball during a game.

To reduce risk of injury, a new study recommends preventing how hard a ball hits the head by inflating balls to lower pressures and subbing them out when they get wet.

The study, conducted by Purdue University engineers, found that inflating balls to pressures on the lower end of ranges enforced by soccer governing bodies such as the NCAA and FIFA could reduce forces associated with potential head injury by about 20%.

But if the ball gets too wet, it can quickly surpass the NCAA weight limit for game play and still produce a nasty impact, the researchers said.

"If the ball has too high of a pressure, gets too waterlogged, or both, it actually turns into a weapon. Heading that ball is like heading a brick," said Eric Nauman, a Purdue professor of mechanical engineering and basic medical sciences with a courtesy appointment in biomedical engineering.


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