Head acceleration in blind football players: A laboratory-based exploratory study

To compare head acceleration between blind football players and non-disabled football players, and between anticipated and unanticipated conditions in blind football players.

Laboratory-based exploratory study.

Participants were ten football players (five blind football, five non-disabled; 80% female). Standardized head perturbations were applied in flexion, extension, lateral flexion, and rotation using a custom-built apparatus, under both anticipated and unanticipated conditions. Peak linear (g) and angular (rad/s²) head accelerations were measured.

Between-group comparisons did not reveal statistically significant differences; however, a descriptive pattern was observed for peak angular acceleration during rotational perturbations, with blind football players demonstrating higher values in both anticipated (44.75 ± 4.38 vs. 38.09 ± 7.20 rad/s²; p 0.12) and unanticipated (48.0 ± 4.8 vs. 40.9 ± 5.5 rad/s²; p 0.06) conditions. In blind football group, unanticipated perturbations produced higher accelerations than anticipated, with the largest descriptive differences observed in lateral flexion for both peak linear (0.25 ± 0.03 vs. 0.21 ± 0.03 g; p 0.00) and angular accelerations (21.73 ± 4.71 vs. 18.36 ± 6.45 rad/s²; p 0.24).

Descriptively higher peak angular acceleration during rotational trials was observed in blind football compared to non-disabled football players, alongside consistently higher head accelerations in unanticipated than anticipated conditions. While the observed patterns suggest that anticipatory control may influence head acceleration responses, adequately powered studies are needed to confirm the observed directional trends in angular head acceleration between blind football and non-disabled football players and clarify their implications for sport-related concussion prevention strategies in blind football.