An acute bout of controlled subconcussive impacts can alter dynamic cerebral autoregulation indices: a preliminary investigation.

Abstract

There is growing concern repetitive head contacts sustained by soccer players may lead to long-term health ramifications. Therefore, this preliminary investigation examined the impact an acute soccer heading bout has on dynamic cerebral autoregulation (dCA) metrics. In this preliminary investigation, 40 successful soccer headers were performed in 20min by 7 male elite soccer players (24.1 ± 1.5years). Soccer balls were launched at 77.5 ± 3.7km/h from JUGS soccer machine, located 35m away from participants. Linear and rotational head accelerations impacts were measured using an accelerometer (xPatch). The SCAT3 indexed concussion symptom score and severity before and after: soccer headers, sham (body contact only), and control conditions. Squat-stand maneuvers were performed at 0.05Hz and 0.10Hz to quantity dCA through measures of coherence, phase, and gain. Cumulative linear and rotational accelerations during soccer headers were 1574 ± 97.9g and 313,761 ± 23,966 rads/s2, respectively. SCAT3 symptom severity was elevated after the soccer heading bout (pre 3.7 ± 3.6, post 9.4 ± 7.6: p = 0.030) and five of the seven participants reported an increase in concussion-like symptoms (pre: 2.6 ± 3.0, post: 6.7 ± 6.2; p = 0.078). Phase at 0.10Hz was elevated following soccer heading (p = 0.008). No other dCA metric differed following the three conditions. These preliminary results indicate an acute bout of soccer heading resulted in alterations to dCA metrics. Therefore, future research with larger sample sizes is warranted to fully comprehend short- and long-term physiological changes related to soccer heading.