An official website of the United States government
This content will become publicly available on April 1, 2026
Exploring Sex-Based Variations in Head Kinematics During Soccer Heading
While studies indicate that females experience a higher concussion risk and more severe outcomes in soccer heading compared to males, comprehensive data on the underlying factors contributing to these sex-based differences are lacking. This study investigates the sex differences in the head-to-ball impact kinematics among college-aged soccer headers in a laboratory-controlled setting. Forty subjects (20 females, 20 males) performed ten headers, and impact kinematics, including peak angular acceleration and velocity (PAA, PAV) and peak linear acceleration (PLA), were measured using mouthguards. Video recordings verified impacts and impact locations. Participants’ head mass was estimated from their weights. The relationship between head mass and kinematic parameters was analyzed using Pearson correlation. The effects of head mass, sex, and impact location on kinematic parameters were assessed using MANOVA with and without head mass as a covariate. Results showed that head mass, larger in males than females, significantly affects PAA and PLA, the greater the head mass, the lower PAA and PLA. However, head mass has no effect on PAV. Females showed significantly higher PAA and PLA components but no significant differences in PAV. Impact location significantly influenced PAV, showing higher magnitudes for frontal impacts compared to top-front impacts, with no significant effects on PAA and PLA. Our results agree with epidemiological evidence that female soccer players face greater concussion risks than males, which can be attributed to their higher header-induced PAA. Future research could consider interventions like changing ball pressure, using protective headgear, and improving heading techniques to reduce high-magnitude accelerations in females.
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 2138719
- PAR ID:
- 10618423
- Editor(s):
- Wu, Lyndia Chun
- Publisher / Repository:
- Springer Nature
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Annals of Biomedical Engineering
- Volume:
- 53
- Issue:
- 4
- ISSN:
- 0090-6964
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 891 to 907
- Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI) Soccer head impact Head kinematics Sex differences · Repeated sub-concussive head impacts Concussion risk
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
Sex differences in brain structure significantly influence traumatic brain injury (TBI) onset and progression, yet this area is understudied. Herein, we developed sex-specific brain anatomical (macroscale) and axonal tract (mesoscale) templates and explored the sex variations at subject level using a set of T1-MRI (609 males, 721 females) and DTI images (506 males, 594 females). The FreeSurfer, ANTs, and DSI-Studio packages were used. We investigated overall/regional volumes, DTI metrics (including fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity, and radial diffusivity), and connectivity matrix across 23 brain regions. The brain connectome was derived by multiplying the fiber tract counts and the FA values within the connecting tracts, quantifying the connection strength within each pair of regions. Our subject-wise analysis revealed significant sex based differences (Mann-Whitney p-values < 0.05) across most studied regions for all parameters. The largest sex differences in brain connections were observed in five regions: corpus callosum and right/left cortex and cerebral white matter, all stronger in females. Brain regions were typically larger in males, yet females had higher fractional volumes in the majority of regions except for CSF and ventricles, known for their cushioning effect during head impacts. Additionally, the sex-specific templates better represented their targeted sex compared to opposite or mixed-sex populations as evaluated by root-mean-square-errors when comparing the DTI metrics and connectivity from the DTI templates against the median of subjects and deformation field in registering the subjects to the T1-MRI templates. Our findings highlight the necessity of sex-specific templates in accurate brain modeling and TBI research.more » « less
-
Abstract Head acceleration measurement sensors are now widely deployed in the field to monitor head kinematic exposure in contact sports. The wealth of impact kinematics data provides valuable, yet challenging, opportunities to study the biomechanical basis of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and subconcussive kinematic exposure. Head impact kinematics are translated into brain mechanical responses through physics-based computational simulations using validated brain models to study the mechanisms of injury. First, this article reviews representative legacy and contemporary brain biomechanical models primarily used for blunt impact simulation. Then, it summarizes perspectives regarding the development and validation of these models, and discusses how simulation results can be interpreted to facilitate injury risk assessment and head acceleration exposure monitoring in the context of contact sports. Recommendations and consensus statements are presented on the use of validated brain models in conjunction with kinematic sensor data to understand the biomechanics of mTBI and subconcussion. Mainly, there is general consensus that validated brain models have strong potential to improve injury prediction and interpretation of subconcussive kinematic exposure over global head kinematics alone. Nevertheless, a major roadblock to this capability is the lack of sufficient data encompassing different sports, sex, age and other factors. The authors recommend further integration of sensor data and simulations with modern data science techniques to generate large datasets of exposures and predicted brain responses along with associated clinical findings. These efforts are anticipated to help better understand the biomechanical basis of mTBI and improve the effectiveness in monitoring kinematic exposure in contact sports for risk and injury mitigation purposes.more » « less
-
Biomechanical behavior prior to landing likely contributes to anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries during jump-landing tasks. This study examined prelanding knee kinematics and landing ground reaction forces (GRFs) during single-leg and double-leg landings in males and females. Participants performed landings with the dominant leg or both legs while kinematic and GRF data were collected. Single-leg landings demonstrated less time between prelanding minimal knee flexion and initial ground contact, decreased prelanding and early-landing knee flexion angles and velocities, and increased peak vertical and posterior GRFs compared with double-leg landings. Increased prelanding knee flexion velocities and knee flexion excursion correlated with decreased peak posterior GRFs during both double-leg and single-leg landings. No significant differences were observed between males and females. Prelanding knee kinematics may contribute to the increased risk of ACL injuries in single-leg landings compared with double-leg landings. Future studies are encouraged to incorporate prelanding knee mechanics to understand ACL injury mechanisms and predict future ACL injury risks. Studies of the feasibility of increasing prelanding knee flexion are needed to understand the potential role of prelanding kinematics in decreasing ACL injury risk.more » « less
-
Abstract BackgroundPhysical decline due to aging has been associated with the risk of falls. Minimum toe clearance (MTC) is a gait parameter that might play a role in the mechanism of tripping and falling. However, it is unclear if there are any sex-related effects regarding MTC as people age. The present study investigated if there are sex-related differences in MTC in older active adults. MethodsTwenty-three females and 23 males (F: 65.5 ± 4.8 years; M: 61.9 ± 5.2 years) walked on a treadmill at a preferred walking speed, while kinematic data were obtained at a sampling frequency of 100 Hz and up-sampled to 120 and 240 Hz. MTC was calculated from the kinematics data and evaluated concerning its magnitude (ie, MTC and MTC/leg length), the time between left/right MTC (ie, T-MTC), amount of variability (ie, coefficient of variation [CV] and coefficient of variation modified [CVm]), and temporal structure of variability, that is, the complexity of the time series (ie, MTC α, T-MTC α). ResultsNo sex effects were found for MTC/leg length, for the amount of variability (ie, CV and CVm), and for the complexity of the time series (MTC α, T-MTC α). However, females exhibited significantly lower MTC and T-MTC after adjusting for walking speed, mass, and age as covariates. ConclusionsThe reduced MTC in females suggests a potential sex-related disparity in the risk of tripping and falling among active older adults.more » « less
