Lots of information is available about the dangers of playing football, especially as more and more former college and NFL players are identified as having suffered a brain injury. This is one reason that many parents prefer their children to play soccer - they believe that it is a safer game. However, a recent study has revealed that soccer players are also susceptible to brain injury and that the sport may be more dangerous than many people believe.

Researchers have found that the technique of "heading" the ball - hitting it with the head rather than kicking it - a few times each day can lead to brain injuries. The findings were presented in November at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America that occurred recently in Chicago.

Soccer players who headed the ball more than 1,300 times each year (equivalent to two or three times each day) had an increased rate of injuries to the areas of the brain responsible for attention, memory, planning and vision. Researchers now need to determine more precisely the maximum number of times a player can head the ball before suffering damage to these functional areas of the brain.

A soccer ball can move at speeds up to 70 miles per hour in a professional game. Soccer is the most popular sport in the world. In the United States, most players are children under age 18.

Source:Bloomberg Business Week, "Hitting a Soccer Ball With Your Head Linked to Brain Injuries", by Nicole Ostrow, Nov. 30, 2011.