A custom-made mouthguard reduces head acceleration during soccer heading and prevents acute electrophysiological and cognitive changes in amateur male playersResearch in context

Summary: Background: Repetitive head impacts related to soccer heading might lead to long-term risk of neurodegenerative diseases. Helping to stabilise the head-neck-torso complex could be a preventive strategy. This study aims to investigate head acceleration and heading-related acute electrophysi...

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Main Authors: Claire Pitteu, Philippine Lepère, Philippe Poisson, Etienne Guillaud, Emilie Doat, Bertrand Glize, Patrick Dehail, Hélène Cassoudesalle
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-05-01
Series:EBioMedicine
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352396425001185
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author Claire Pitteu
Philippine Lepère
Philippe Poisson
Etienne Guillaud
Emilie Doat
Bertrand Glize
Patrick Dehail
Hélène Cassoudesalle
author_facet Claire Pitteu
Philippine Lepère
Philippe Poisson
Etienne Guillaud
Emilie Doat
Bertrand Glize
Patrick Dehail
Hélène Cassoudesalle
author_sort Claire Pitteu
collection DOAJ
description Summary: Background: Repetitive head impacts related to soccer heading might lead to long-term risk of neurodegenerative diseases. Helping to stabilise the head-neck-torso complex could be a preventive strategy. This study aims to investigate head acceleration and heading-related acute electrophysiological and cognitive changes in soccer players, with a custom-made mouthguard (CM-MG) and without. Methods: In this crossover study, 18 amateur male soccer players (age 22 ± 3 y) performed ten consecutive headers from machine-projected balls, with and without a CM-MG. Head accelerations during heading were recorded. Peak force of neck muscles were assessed. Before and immediately after heading, cognitive function was assessed, and the cortical silent period (cSP) was measured from the motor-evoked potentials recorded using Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation. Findings: A decrease of 6·40 g (95% CI [−11·74; 39·09]) of mean peak linear head acceleration was found with the CM-MG (26·43 g) compared to without (34·15 g, p = 0·01). The peak force of the head flexor muscles was higher with the CM-MG (172 N) than without (146·7 N), with a mean difference of 19·33 N (95% CI [13·39; 25·27]) (p < 0·001). The difference in mean cSP between pre- and post-heading decreased statistically significantly with the CM-MG (−9·17 ms) compared to without (20·03 ms; p = 0·0016), with a median difference of −22·87 ms (95% CI [−45·85; −4·02]). There was also a decrease in the changes to memory performance with the CM-MG versus without. Interpretation: A CM-MG may have the potential to protect the brain during soccer heading. More studies are still needed to confirm its benefits in all playing conditions on the field. Funding: This research received two grants from LabEx BRAIN- Bordeaux University and France Traumatisme Cranien (public sector).
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spelling doaj-art-af487c2c966f4ea1982a9402f7e0d5d12025-08-20T03:06:41ZengElsevierEBioMedicine2352-39642025-05-0111510567410.1016/j.ebiom.2025.105674A custom-made mouthguard reduces head acceleration during soccer heading and prevents acute electrophysiological and cognitive changes in amateur male playersResearch in contextClaire Pitteu0Philippine Lepère1Philippe Poisson2Etienne Guillaud3Emilie Doat4Bertrand Glize5Patrick Dehail6Hélène Cassoudesalle7Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine Department, University Hospital of Bordeaux, Place Amelie Raba Leon, 33000, Bordeaux, France; University of Bordeaux, INSERM, BPH, U1219, ACTIVE Team, 146 Rue Léo Saignat, F-33000, Bordeaux, FrancePhysical and Rehabilitation Medicine Department, University Hospital of Bordeaux, Place Amelie Raba Leon, 33000, Bordeaux, FranceUniversity of Bordeaux, INSERM, BPH, U1219, ACTIVE Team, 146 Rue Léo Saignat, F-33000, Bordeaux, France; Oral Medicine Department, University Hospital of Bordeaux, Avenue du Haut Lévêque, 33604, Pessac, FranceUniversity Bordeaux, CNRS, INCIA, UMR 5287, F-33000, Bordeaux, FranceUniversity Bordeaux, CNRS, INCIA, UMR 5287, F-33000, Bordeaux, FrancePhysical and Rehabilitation Medicine Department, University Hospital of Bordeaux, Place Amelie Raba Leon, 33000, Bordeaux, France; University of Bordeaux, INSERM, BPH, U1219, ACTIVE Team, 146 Rue Léo Saignat, F-33000, Bordeaux, FrancePhysical and Rehabilitation Medicine Department, University Hospital of Bordeaux, Place Amelie Raba Leon, 33000, Bordeaux, France; University of Bordeaux, INSERM, BPH, U1219, ACTIVE Team, 146 Rue Léo Saignat, F-33000, Bordeaux, FrancePhysical and Rehabilitation Medicine Department, University Hospital of Bordeaux, Place Amelie Raba Leon, 33000, Bordeaux, France; University of Bordeaux, INSERM, BPH, U1219, ACTIVE Team, 146 Rue Léo Saignat, F-33000, Bordeaux, France; Corresponding author. Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine Department, USN-Tastet Girard, Hopital Pellegrin, Place Amélie Raba Léon, 33076, Bordeaux Cedex, France.Summary: Background: Repetitive head impacts related to soccer heading might lead to long-term risk of neurodegenerative diseases. Helping to stabilise the head-neck-torso complex could be a preventive strategy. This study aims to investigate head acceleration and heading-related acute electrophysiological and cognitive changes in soccer players, with a custom-made mouthguard (CM-MG) and without. Methods: In this crossover study, 18 amateur male soccer players (age 22 ± 3 y) performed ten consecutive headers from machine-projected balls, with and without a CM-MG. Head accelerations during heading were recorded. Peak force of neck muscles were assessed. Before and immediately after heading, cognitive function was assessed, and the cortical silent period (cSP) was measured from the motor-evoked potentials recorded using Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation. Findings: A decrease of 6·40 g (95% CI [−11·74; 39·09]) of mean peak linear head acceleration was found with the CM-MG (26·43 g) compared to without (34·15 g, p = 0·01). The peak force of the head flexor muscles was higher with the CM-MG (172 N) than without (146·7 N), with a mean difference of 19·33 N (95% CI [13·39; 25·27]) (p < 0·001). The difference in mean cSP between pre- and post-heading decreased statistically significantly with the CM-MG (−9·17 ms) compared to without (20·03 ms; p = 0·0016), with a median difference of −22·87 ms (95% CI [−45·85; −4·02]). There was also a decrease in the changes to memory performance with the CM-MG versus without. Interpretation: A CM-MG may have the potential to protect the brain during soccer heading. More studies are still needed to confirm its benefits in all playing conditions on the field. Funding: This research received two grants from LabEx BRAIN- Bordeaux University and France Traumatisme Cranien (public sector).http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352396425001185SoccerTraumatic brain injuriesMouthguardBiomechanicsTranscranial magnetic stimulationCognition
spellingShingle Claire Pitteu
Philippine Lepère
Philippe Poisson
Etienne Guillaud
Emilie Doat
Bertrand Glize
Patrick Dehail
Hélène Cassoudesalle
A custom-made mouthguard reduces head acceleration during soccer heading and prevents acute electrophysiological and cognitive changes in amateur male playersResearch in context
EBioMedicine
Soccer
Traumatic brain injuries
Mouthguard
Biomechanics
Transcranial magnetic stimulation
Cognition
title A custom-made mouthguard reduces head acceleration during soccer heading and prevents acute electrophysiological and cognitive changes in amateur male playersResearch in context
title_full A custom-made mouthguard reduces head acceleration during soccer heading and prevents acute electrophysiological and cognitive changes in amateur male playersResearch in context
title_fullStr A custom-made mouthguard reduces head acceleration during soccer heading and prevents acute electrophysiological and cognitive changes in amateur male playersResearch in context
title_full_unstemmed A custom-made mouthguard reduces head acceleration during soccer heading and prevents acute electrophysiological and cognitive changes in amateur male playersResearch in context
title_short A custom-made mouthguard reduces head acceleration during soccer heading and prevents acute electrophysiological and cognitive changes in amateur male playersResearch in context
title_sort custom made mouthguard reduces head acceleration during soccer heading and prevents acute electrophysiological and cognitive changes in amateur male playersresearch in context
topic Soccer
Traumatic brain injuries
Mouthguard
Biomechanics
Transcranial magnetic stimulation
Cognition
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352396425001185
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