wave energy

Research Reveals Football Heading Creates Pressure Wave Energy Transfer to Brain

Loughborough University researchers, backed by the Football Association, have discovered that heading a football creates a previously unidentified pressure wave that transfers energy directly into the frontal region of the brain. The study found this energy transfer can vary by up to 55 times depending on ball design, speed, and wet conditions. The research challenges the assumption that older leather balls were more dangerous than modern alternatives, with evidence showing high energy transfer occurred across all eras. The findings come amid ongoing scrutiny into links between heading and neurodegenerative diseases following the deaths of former footballers including Gordon McQueen and Jeff Astle.