The Effects of a Single Bout of Soccer Heading of Single and Dual-Task Tandem Gait in Collegiate Recreationally Active Individuals

Introduction: The understanding of subconcussive impacts is limited with few assessments to determine effects in a recreationally active population due to existing tests being static and unidimensional. Methods: This study investigated the effects of 10 soccer headers on pre and post-test measurements of patient reported outcome measures and single and dual-task tandem gait of 12 recreationally active college-aged participants. Results: No changes due to the heading session were observed; however, there was a detectable learning effect with participants walking faster and committing more gait errors but less cognitive errors. Conclusion: A bout of soccer heading may not pose an immediate risk to dynamic postural control and cognitive function.