Soccer headers: do mouthguards protect your brain?

NCT ID NCT04426188

First seen Jun 24, 2026 · Last updated Jun 24, 2026

Summary

This study looked at how heading a soccer ball changes the brain and whether wearing a mouthguard makes a difference. Twenty-one male soccer players did 10 headers in two sessions—once with a mouthguard and once without. Before and after, they had brain scans, cognitive tests, and measurements of neck strength and jaw muscle activity.

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Contacts and locations

Locations

  • CHU de Bordeaux

    Bordeaux, 33 076, France

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only — not medical advice or a prediction.

What this could lead to

If successful, this could help understand how soccer headers affect the brain and whether mouthguards reduce that impact.

What could go wrong

This is a very small, early study with only 21 male players. It looks at short-term changes, not long-term brain health, so results may not apply widely.

Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

Brain Concussion Brain Injuries, Traumatic traumatic brain injury

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.