Manufacturers of athletic equipment have designed special headgear to diminish head injuries and brain damage caused by "headers" in soccer, but a scientific study says they don't do much good.

According to Dr. Phil Bayly of Washington University in St. Louis, some of the new equipment – foam helmets and padded headbands – may protect against injuries from colliding with hard items such as a goal post, but they don't protect against the impact of heading a soccer ball.

Earlier studies have determined that heading soccer balls has been associated with diminished mental capacity among professional soccer players.

Bayly's study tested four brands of new headgear – Soccer Docs, Kangaroo, Head Blast, and Head'r – and reported the results in the current issue of Academic Emergency Medicine.

Tests were done by putting various head protectors on metal mannequins with pressure sensors attached. Soccer balls were propelled at the headgear at different speeds, from 30 to 50 kilometres an hour to simulate various ball-to-head impacts.

Bayly and his team determined that the ball itself is the culprit, raising questions as to whether youngsters should be doing headers at all while playing soccer.

"In my opinion, if heading is shown to be a problem, the changes should be made to the ball," Bayly said. "Lighter and softer balls will unquestionably reduce accelerations. In youth soccer, I think it's wise to avoid unnecessary heading – no need for drills in practice – but this is opinion at this point."

The research is regarded as a significant health issue as some 200 million people play soccer around the world.

An article in a recent issue of the Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology said soccer-related concussions caused by heading the ball contributes to mental impairment. This study examined 84 active soccer players in the Netherlands.

The mental impairment has been found to be similar to the impairment that afflicts many retired boxers.