Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Soccer Heading Drills And Concussion-Related Deficits In High School Female Athletes, Brent Harper, Adrian Aron, Rahul Soangra

Physical Therapy Faculty Articles and Research

Repetitive head impacts from soccer heading may result in concussions in female athletes. Problem Statement: Concussion assessments exist with efforts to limit headers. Heading drills performed in different environments have conflicting results regarding influences on assessments. Approach: To evaluate, within an ecological realsetting environment with unpredictable conditions reflective of game situations, a heading drill’s effect on the King-Devick (K-D) and Biodex Biosway Balance Assessment (CTSIB-M). Preseason and post-heading metrics were taken for eleven female high school varsity soccer players (16 ± 1.4 years old) using K-D and CTSIB-M. K-D and CTSIB-M tests were repeated following a heading drill …