(Reuters Health) - College athletes playing water polo may sustain more head impacts than people have realized, a U.S. study suggests.And water polo players in offensive positions take relatively more hits to the head than their more defensive peers, the research showed.Head injuries in sports, particularly in American football, have gained national attention as sport associations look to improve game safety rules and avoid concussions."A lot of the focus has been on American Football, but this study shows that in other sports like water polo, repeated hits to the head can be frequent - possibly more frequent than we thought or knew about," said Michael Alosco, assistant professor of neurology at Boston University, who wasn't involved in the study.The data is scant when it comes to water polo, said senior study author James Hicks from the University of California, Irvine.In an earlier study, Hicks and colleagues surveyed water polo players and found that roughly one in three said they … [Read more...] about Water polo players sustain frequent head impacts
Football head injuries
Football: Liverpool’s Firmino out of Barca visit, Salah at risk
NEWCASTLE: Liverpool will be without their Brazilian forward Roberto Firmino for Tuesday's Champions League semi-final second leg against Barcelona at Anfield, manager Jurgen Klopp said on Saturday (May 4).Klopp could also be without another key forward in Mohamed Salah after the Egyptian was carried off with a head injury in Saturday's 3-2 win at Newcastle.Firmino, who has a muscular injury, was not included in the match day squad for Saturday's game at St. James' Park and Klopp said he will not feature against the Spaniards as Liverpool look to overturn a 3-0 deficit from the first leg."He will not be ready for Tuesday and the rest we will see,” said Klopp, whose side face Wolves in their final Premier League game on May 12.Klopp said it was too soon to say whether Salah would be able to play against Barca."What I heard, he got the hip of the goalie on his head," Klopp said."He was then on the ground and the doc had to make a decision 'on the pitch or off the pitch', and the … [Read more...] about Football: Liverpool’s Firmino out of Barca visit, Salah at risk
Football: Pochettino open to change in football concussion rules
LONDON: Mauricio Pochettino said he was open to a change in football's concussion protocols as Tottenham Hotspur wait for an update on the health of defender Jan Vertonghen, who suffered a head injury against Ajax.Vertonghen saw a neurologist on Thursday (May 2) after a clash of heads with team-mate Toby Alderweireld during Tottenham's Champions League defeat by Ajax this week.The 32-year-old Belgium international had to be helped from the pitch during Tuesday's 1-0 semi-final, first-leg defeat after initially being allowed to play on following lengthy treatment.Tottenham issued a statement on their website on Wednesday saying Vertonghen had undergone further assessment and tests had been clear.But the north London club's handling of the injury has been criticised and Spurs boss Pochettino said he was prepared to accept changes in protocols for head injuries."Today was his appointment with the specialist and we still haven't seen the report," he told reporters at his pre-match press … [Read more...] about Football: Pochettino open to change in football concussion rules
Football: Liverpool upbeat over Firmino’s fitness to face Barcelona
LONDON: Liverpool are increasingly confident Roberto Firmino will be fit to face Barcelona at the Camp Nou in Wednesday's first leg of their Champions League semi-final against the La Liga giants.The Brazil forward missed Friday's 5-0 Premier League win over Huddersfield with a small muscle tear, but was still included in the 23-man squad selected by coach Jurgen Klopp and took part in team training on Tuesday before flying to Spain later in the day."We all knew from the beginning it would be a race," Klopp told Liverpool's website when commenting on Firmino's fitness."We don't have to make a decision today because there's no game today, we can wait."It looked good so far, but I have until tomorrow to make that decision," added the German, whose side are also battling Manchester City in a title race that looks destined to go to the wire.Meanwhile Fabinho was passed fit after the midfielder missed the 5-0 thrashing of Huddersfield following a head injury sustained in the previous … [Read more...] about Football: Liverpool upbeat over Firmino’s fitness to face Barcelona
Football: De Gea blunder costs Manchester United again in Chelsea draw
MANCHESTER: Another costly error from David de Gea dealt Manchester United's chances of Champions League football a potentially fatal blow as Chelsea consolidated their place in the Premier League top four with a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford.De Gea spilled Antonio Rudiger's long-range effort to allow Marcos Alonso to equalise just before half-time and cancel out Juan Mata's early opener.A point halts a run of seven defeats in nine games for United, but does little for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men's chances of overhauling Chelsea, who remain three points ahead of the Red Devils and with a superior goal difference.Arsenal's defeat by Leicester earlier on Sunday means Maurizio Sarri's men move two points ahead of the Gunners with two games of the campaign to go.Solskjaer made five changes from the side beaten comfortably by Manchester City in midweek.However, it was the one the Norwegian did not make, and insisted he would not countenance, in dropping De Gea that came back to haunt him after a … [Read more...] about Football: De Gea blunder costs Manchester United again in Chelsea draw