Abstract
Sports-related concussion has been examined extensively in collision sports such as football and hockey. However, historically, lower-risk contact sports such as soccer have only more recently garnered increased attention. Here, we review articles examining the epidemiology, injury mechanisms, sex differences, as well as the neurochemical, neurostructural and neurocognitive changes associated with soccer-related concussion. From 436 titles and abstracts, 121 full texts were reviewed with a total of 64 articles identified for inclusion. Concussion rates are higher during competitions and in female athletes with purposeful heading rarely resulting in concussion. Given a lack of high-level studies examining sports-related concussion in soccer, clinicians and scientists must focus research efforts on large-scale data gathering and development of improved technologies to better detect and understand concussion.
Highlights
MethodsSearch strategy A literature search was developed by the primary author (J Mooney) and conducted in May 2020, using PubMed and Medline, limited to English language
Soccer-related concussion represents a significant proportion of SRC worldwide
After review of the soccer concussion literature, studies suggest that women experience a greater rate of concussion in both practices and games compared with men, and that female soccer players have the highest rates of concussion when compared with female athletes in other sports
Summary
Search strategy A literature search was developed by the primary author (J Mooney) and conducted in May 2020, using PubMed and Medline, limited to English language. Search phrases including ‘soccer; concussion; mild TBI; repetitive subconcussive head impact (RSHI); sex differences; repetitive heading; neurochemistry; chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Records identified through database searching (n = 436). Additional records identified through other sources (n = 0). Records after duplicates removed (n = 436). Full-text articles assessed for eligibility (n = 64).
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