La Trobe University and Sheffield Hallam University have announced a partnership to jointly study the effects of heading in football in the United Kingdom and Australia. The study will use the EyeGuide 10 second eye tracking test to objectively assess how repetitive heading in football may affect cognitive function.
The study, as part of a joint La Trobe and Sheffield Hallam PhD project, involved amateur players from the Sheffield area in the UK in late 2022 and will continue with local Melbourne football clubs in Australia in early 2023.
“Our project intends to determine whether there is evidence of acute and chronic physical, cognitive, or neurophysiological impairment following head impact exposure” said Professor Jonathan Wheat from Sheffield Hallam University.
The initial study will involve participants having measures of balance, ocular-motor function, and cortical inhibition measured before and after performing a predetermined number of headers in a controlled laboratory environment. The second study will track these same measures before and after training and competition over the course of a season.
“We were confident that the EyeGuide was the right eye tracking tool for our study. It was very simple to use” said Dr Kane Middleton from La Trobe University.
The result of the study are expected to be published in mid to late 2023.
