Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Biomechanics and injury risk of a headbutt

  • Original Article
  • Published:
International Journal of Legal Medicine Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Headbutt is a relevant type of a criminal assault that can result in injuries. The aim of this study was to collect basic biomechanical data and assess the injury risk associated with a headbutt. Series of measurements were carried out with volunteers with and without relevant soccer heading experience, and the impact velocity of the striking head was measured. A soccer ball was used as a surrogate of the stationary victim’s head. Two scenarios were considered: one corresponding to the typical headbutt situation, i.e. short movement of the assailant’s head without backswing, and one representing the worst case, i.e. the most severe head impact without time or space constraints for the assailant. The results as well as epidemiological data from court cases and a large Munich’s university clinic show that a typical headbutt is not likely to lead to life-threatening injuries, but bony injuries of the face can easily occur. Under certain circumstances (support of the victim’s head, secondary impact on the ground etc.), severe injuries with potentially lethal outcomes are possible. A thorough analysis of each case is thus an imperative. The (soccer) heading experience does not influence the velocity of the headbutt.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Smith MS, Dyson RJ, Hale T, Janaway L (2000) Development of a boxing dynamometer and its punch force discrimination efficacy. J Sports Sci 18:445–450

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Waliko TJ, Viano DC, Bir CC (2005) Biomechanics of the head for Olympic boxer punches to the face. Br J Sports Med 39:710–719

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Shewchenko W, Withnall C, Keown M, Gittens R, Dvorak J (2005) Heading in football. Part 1: development of biomechanical methods to investigate head response. Br J Sports Med 39(Suppl I):i10–i25

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Bauer JA, Thomas TS, Cauraugh JH, Kaminski TW, Hass CJ (2001) Impact forces and neck muscle activity in heading by collegiate female soccer players. J Sports Sci 19:171–179

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Goldsmith W, Plunkett J (2004) A biomechanical analysis of the causes of traumatic brain injury in infants and children. Am J Forensic Med Pathol 25:89–100

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. McIntosh AS, McCrory P, Comerford J (2000) The dynamics of concussive head impacts in rugby and Australian rules football. Med Sci Sports Exerc 32(12):1980–1984

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Broglio SP, Sosnoff JJ, Shin S, He X, Alcaraz C, Zimmerman J (2009) Head impacts during high school football: a biomechanical assessment. J Athl Train 44(4):342–349

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Viano DC, Casson IR, Pellman EJ, Bir CA, Zhang L, Sherman DC, Boitano MA (2005) Concussion in professional football: comparison with boxing head impacts—part 10. Neurosurgery 57:1154–1172

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Stan A-C, Guenther D, Fieguth A, Hori A (1996) Traumatic ponto-medullary tear: a case report. For Sci Int 77:37–43

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Enoch DA, Gilham MI, Macfarlane R, Antoun N, Sule O (2007) A troublesome head-butt. Lancet Infect Dis 7:694

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Rimal D, Thapa SR, Munasinghe N, Errington M (2007) An unusual presentation of a minor head injury sustained during a game of rugby. Emerg Med J 24(7):485–486

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Viano DC, Parenteau CS (2008) Analysis of head impacts causing neck compression injury. Traffic Inj Prev 9:144–152

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Clauser CE, McConville JT, Young JW (1969) Weight, volume, and center of mass of segments of the human body. Technical Report AMRL-TR-69-70, Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory, Wright–Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton

  14. Schneider DC, Nahum AM (1972) Impact studies of facial bones and skull. In: Proceedings of the 16th Stapp Car Crash Conference, Detroit, pp 186–203

  15. Advani S, Powell W, Huston J, Ojala S (1975) Human head impact response—experimental data and analytical simulations. In: Proceedings of the International Conference on the Biomechanics of Impact (IRCOBI), Berlin, pp 153–162

  16. Nahum AM, Gatts JD, Gadd CW, Danforth JP (1968) Impact tolerance of the face and skull. In: Proceedings of the 12th Stapp Car Crash Conference, Detroit, pp 302–317

  17. Allsop D, Perl TR, Warner CY (1991) Force/deflection and fracture characteristics of the temporoparietal region of the human head. In: Proceedings of the 35th Stapp Car Crash Conference, Detroit, pp 269–278

  18. Advani SH, Ommaya AK, Yang WJ (1982) Human body dynamics. Claredon, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  19. Hampson D (1995) Facial injury: a review of biomechanical studies and test procedures for facial injury assessment. J Biomech 28:1–7

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Nyquist GW, Cavanaugh JM, Goldberg SJ, King AI (1986) Facial impact tolerance and response. In: Proceedings of the 30th Stapp Car Crash Conference, Detroit, pp 379–400

  21. Gadd CW (1966) Use of weighted-impulse criterion for establishing injury hazard. Proceedings of the 10th Stapp Car Crash Conference, Detroit, pp 164–174

  22. Newman JA, Shewchenko N, Welbourne E (2000) A proposed new biomechanical head injury assessment function—the maximum power index. Stapp Car Crash J 44:215–247

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Ommaya AK, Goldsmith W, Thibault L (2002) Biomechanics and neuropathology of adult and paediatric head injury: review. Br J Neurosurg 16(3):220–242

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Bremer S, Praxl N, Schönpflug M, Schneider K, Graw M (2003) The human punch—a forensic biomechanical research. For Sci Int 136:264

    Google Scholar 

  25. Smith PK, Hamil J (1986) The effect of punching glove type and skill level on momentum transfer. J Hum Movement Stud 12:153–161

    Google Scholar 

  26. Schneider K (1985) Der Einfluß motorischer und mechanischer Stoßbedingungen auf das Verletzungsrisiko beim Fußball-Kopfstoß. Sportwissenschaft 15:183–192

    Google Scholar 

  27. Yoganandan N, Pintar FA (2004) Biomechanics of temporo-parietal skull fracture. Clin Biomech 19:225–239

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jiri Adamec.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Adamec, J., Mai, V., Graw, M. et al. Biomechanics and injury risk of a headbutt. Int J Legal Med 127, 103–110 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-011-0617-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-011-0617-y

Keywords

Navigation