The relationship between header type and head acceleration during heading in male youth football players

Objective: To explore head impact magnitude (linear head acceleration and rotational velocity) during heading for four different header types in youth male footballers. A secondary objective was to explore whether head impact magnitude was influenced by player-related factors (i.e. age, neck strength). Design: An observational field-based research design was utilised for this research. Participants: 27 youth male footballers (mean age14.81, SD1.88) from one football club. Main outcome measures: Peak linear acceleration and peak angular velocity were measured during four different header types (two from 15-m and two from 5-m). Maximal isometric neck strength of each player was also assessed (flexors, extensors, left and right-side flexors). Results: Statistically significant differences were observed between header type and both peak linear acceleration (F(3,78) = 60.90, R-2 = 0.76, p=<0.001) =<0.001) and peak angular velocity (F(3,78) = 43.63, R-2 = 0.75, p=<0.001). =<0.001). In terms of players related factors, for linear acceleration, 6% (P = 0.008) of the variance was predicted by age, and for angular velocity, 12% (P = 0.003) was predicted by age, with neck strength accounting for <9% of the variance. Conclusions: In this youth cohort, head impact magnitude during heading is influenced by the type of header being performed.