You probably don't want to be heading a football right after your stroke even though the physical coordination required to do that would be great for your recovery.
http://www.alphagalileo.org/ViewItem.aspx?ItemId=169233&CultureCode=en
Researchers from the University of Stirling have explored the true
impact of heading a football, identifying small but significant changes
in brain function immediately after routine heading practice.
The study from Scotland’s University for Sporting Excellence
published in EBioMedicine is the first to detect direct changes in the
brain after players are exposed to everyday head impacts, as opposed to
clinical brain injuries like concussion.
A group of football players headed a ball 20 times, fired from a
machine designed to simulate the pace and power of a corner kick. Before
and after the heading sessions, scientists tested players’ brain
function and memory.
Increased inhibition in the brain was detected after just a single
session of heading. Memory test performance was also reduced by between
41 and 67 per cent, with effects normalising within 24 hours.
Whether the changes to the brain remain temporary after repeated
exposure to a football and the long-term consequences of heading on
brain health, are yet to be investigated.
Played by more than 250 million people worldwide, the ‘beautiful
game’ often involves intentional and repeated bursts of heading a ball.
In recent years the possible link between brain injury in sport and
increased risk of dementia has focussed attention on whether football
heading might lead to long term consequences for brain health.
Cognitive neuroscientist Dr Magdalena Ietswaart from Psychology at
the University of Stirling, said: “In light of growing concern about the
effects of contact sport on brain health, we wanted to see if our brain
reacts instantly to heading a football. Using a drill most amateur and
professional teams would be familiar with, we found there was infact
increased inhibition in the brain immediately after heading and that
performance on memory tests was reduced significantly.
“Although the changes were temporary, we believe they are significant
to brain health, particularly if they happen over and over again as
they do in football heading. With large numbers of people around the
world participating in this sport, it is important that they are aware
of what is happening inside the brain and the lasting effect this may
have.”
Dr Angus Hunter, Reader in Exercise Physiology in the Faculty of
Health Sciences and Sport, added: “For the first time, sporting bodies
and members of the public can see clear evidence of the risks associated
with repetitive impact caused by heading a football.
“We hope these findings will open up new approaches for detecting,
monitoring and preventing cumulative brain injuries in sport. We need to
safeguard the long term health of football players at all levels, as
well as individuals involved in other contact sports.”
Dr Ietswaart and Dr Hunter were supported in the research by Stirling
neuropsychologist Professor Lindsay Wilson and PhD student Tom Di
Virgilio, consulting with leading Glasgow University Medical School
Neuropathologist Dr Willie Stewart and a wider multi-disciplinary team.
In the study, scientists measured levels of brain function using a
basic neuroscience technique called Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
(TMS). The findings from this study, funded by the NIHR Brain Injury
Healthcare Technology Cooperative (HTC) are the first to show the TMS
technique can be used to detect changes to brain function after small,
routine impacts.
http://www.ebiomedicine.com/article/S2352-3964(16)30490-X/fulltext
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