The effect of neck strength and anthropometric properties on the linear and rotational accelerations experienced by academy footballers during heading: an exploratory analysis.

Dobbin, Nicholas ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7508-1683, Bolland, Phil and Mullen, Tom (2025) The effect of neck strength and anthropometric properties on the linear and rotational accelerations experienced by academy footballers during heading: an exploratory analysis. Physical Therapy in Sport. ISSN 1466-853X (In Press)

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Abstract

Objectives: To examine associations between anthropometric properties and neck strength with linear and rotational accelerations during heading. Design: Observational cohort study. Participants: Eleven male footballers from a UK academy. Main outcomes: Independent variables included head and neck circumference, head mass, head-neck segment mass, and strength. Dependent variables were mouthguard-derived linear and rotational acceleration. Results: A total of 11 male footballer recorded 259 heading events (248 per player). Trivial associations were observed between neck length, head-neck segment mass, and side flexion strength with linear acceleration (r=-0.04--0.18, p=0.001-0.638). There was trivial-to-small association between neck circumference, head mass and strength in forward flexion and extension with linear acceleration (r=0.05-0.33, p=0.001-0.602). Neck circumference, head mass, and strength in forward flexion and extension showed trivial-to-small associations (r=0.05–0.33, p=0.001–0.602). Neck length, circumference, and side flexion strength were trivial-to-large associated with rotational acceleration (r=-0.17–0.70, p<0.001–0.166), while head mass, head-neck segment mass, and strength in flexion and extension had trivial-to-small associations (r=0.01–0.75, p<0.001–0.955). Fixed effects explained 4.3 to 6.5% of the variance head accelerations. Conclusion: Neck strength and anthropometric factors showed mixed associations with head accelerations during heading, explaining a small proportion of the variance in linear and rotational accelerations.