Neckbrace effectiveness - time to ask those hard questions

[Capricorn]

I hope this stokes a good debate on the matter as I've been chirped by the Know-it-all kiddo on a bike about how irritating it will be if I break my neck. The context being, no Leatt, no life..

 

but is the kid really the know-it-all he thinks he is?? The french say no..

(taken off a forum and is obviously a user's transcript of the study, which I'm hoping to find in short order)

 

I have always been worried about the Leatt's back piece. Was more keen on the A-Stars, got really excited by the Ortema and after seeing it, I am really pumped about the fact that some brands are moving forward from having a piece of hard stuff deflect the impact further down the spine and rather go for safer areas like the scapula/shoulders area.

 

The FFM (French Moto Federation) handed over the investigation to independent biometric labs. It last 1 year and a half, used soft protection (the old doughnuts), semi-rigid/soft (like the EVS) and hard shells like the Leatt.

 

Results shows that of the 3 type the only 1 that has some kind of positive effect, in some very rare cases, is the hard shell (Leatt, Astars, Ortema, etc). It shows that the positive effect is so small that the FFM has decided not to impose it in racing (after such investigations/survey they imposed helmets, boots, back-protection).

The survey showed that in cases where it was possible that the neck-brace deflected impact from C1-C2 to C3-C4. It showed too that the risk of injury to C3-C4 is still very important even with a rigid neck-brace (Leatt).

 

Their conclusion is that it is not the miracle product it was fashioned in 2007, that it could in a very small percentage of potential injury help in a very limited way but not to justify the investment for riders. They say important improvement are still needed, and that the perfect product will be a combo of helmet/neck-brace/body-armor.

 

The most important neck injury comes from compression, rather than hyperflexion, and none of the existing product remedy to that. It showed A-stars is still working on theirs, going more in that direction. Showing other serious investigation like this one are on the way in more European countries and that most come to the same conclusions.

 

I would be surprised any American magazine would ever investigate that way and publish that kind of results, advertising dollar is too strong here where publication sales pay less than ad sales.

[Capricorn]

now before anyone thinks I'm naysaying any particular product. I'm not: i have a Leatt neck brace and body protection, and come race day, i wear them. come (most) training days, i wear them. I'm of the opinion some protection is better than nothing, and I'm willing ot accept some sort of collateral bodily damage, (broken collarbone)due to wearing the protection in order to save my neck, literally and figuratively.

 

BUT, i am very curious to effectiveness. At the moment, I wont be surprised if marketing money drives the whole compaign, while hiding behind the fear of snapped necks. Fear purchases keeps prices overinflated and stops critical questioning. What is the standard? Where are the benchmarks. For helmets, we have SNEL and DOT etc. It's not lost upon me this is a nascent market, so automatically, standards do not exist and need to be defined. but as a leader in the market, what are Leatt and Astars doing to establish those standards. At the moment, they just seem to be going toe-to-toe based on market share.

Edited March 25, 2011 by Capricorn

[Capricorn]

Part 2 of a very interesting write up on the various brands of neck braces (Leatt, Astars, EVS, 661)

Here's an interesting excerpt:

 

“The first and foremost criticism of the Leatt brace that I can see is that it breaks collarbones. I’ve been hearing that for two and a half years,” Patterson said. “We’ve tried to acknowledge it. Chris [Leatt] has acknowledged it. It is the Leatt Corporation’s position that it does not break collarbones.

 

“We haven’t gotten any official data, but of the collarbones that were broken in 2007 in AMA Supercross and Motocross, just by the ones I counted, were 13. Seven of which I believe were with the Leatt Brace and six without. That would tell you that you’re less likely to break your collarbone with the Leatt on because more people were wearing the brace while riding than not. So if it’s almost 50-50 collarbones being broken, but 60 percent of the riders were wearing the Leatt Brace, you’d think that it would break more. It hasn’t.”

 

“Way back when Sean Borkenhagen was hurt, he broke his collarbone and it severed a nerve in his arm,” Patterson said. “His arm went numb, and the whole world said, ‘Leatt Brace broke his collarbone! My God! It’s terrible!’ Three months later we saw photographs of his crash and you can see that he didn’t go head-in. He went on his side – there’s a series of four pictures and you can see that he never landed directly on his head. So it’s very difficult to make those statements if you didn’t see the accident or it’s not on video.”

 

Another well-known accident was that of desert racer Chris Blais. After a high-speed crash that resulted in a T7 injury, Blais was left paralyzed from the waist down. Blais was wearing a Leatt Brace in the accident.

 

“From what we were told, from what I was told, the bike hit him,” Patterson said. “Chris Blais believes that the brace saved his life. The statements that I’ve heard say that he broke his back from the brace. Well, Johnny Campbell was riding right behind him when it happened and he said, ‘No, the bike drilled him.’ If a 250-pound bike’s going to drill you at 100 miles per hour, things are going to happen.”

 

Either way, the fact remains that Blais didn’t fracture or damage his C section – the only area the Leatt Brace is designed to protect.

 

“Chris Leatt has never said the neck brace protects from all injuries,” Patterson commented. “We can’t cover every aspect. [Dr. Leatt’s] design was to protect the cervical spine – in the C section: C1 through C7/8.”

Edited March 25, 2011 by Capricorn

[Guest Omega Man]

Hey Cap. You Really have opened up a can of worms here. And just to warn you. Expect a WHOLE lot of rabid responses from people swearing that their neck brace saved their life.

 

I find it important that I declare my interest up front before before I weigh in here.

 

I am a Leatt Brace shareholder. My friend of 20+ years Karl Ebel was the head of global marketing for Leatt Brace. I used to write a piece of the Leatt Brace news letter called the Pitt Box. I presently sell the Omega Brace which is an alternative product to the Leatt Brace. Right.

 

Firstly lets talk about the good doctor.

 

Chris Leatt is not and never was a neurosurgeon as stated in many magazine and internet articles. He has a criminal record for fraud. He has profited rather handsomely from the brace and as far as I know has the following list of toys.

 

2 Maserati's

A Ferrari

An airplane

 

 

The product.

 

To any logical person not blinded by their faith in the product their are some glaring problems with that type of neck brace.

 

The back piece. It runs RIGHT down your spine. It is supposed to break away in the event of a crash but if so why is it made of carbon?

 

The following pro riders have broken their backs and are in wheelchairs. They were all wearing Leatt Braces when they crashed.

 

Katherine Prumm

Isidre Esteve

Chris Blaise

Eric Saunders

 

Their necks were fine tho.

 

I do get the idea of neck protection tho. I wear a neck brace myself and sell them. It's a matter of personal choice to wear one or not and I respect the individuals choice for choosing to wear or not wear one. However, this thing we do is dangerous. Injuries will occur. Some of them will be catastrophic. A neck brace is NOT a guarantee that you will not be hurt.

 

For example Mac De Decker recently crashed at Tokai breaking his back. A neck brace would not have protected him. Firstly he broke his back and not his neck. Secondly the injury he suffered was a compression injury which no neck brace currently available will protect you from.

 

A far more effective protection method is to ride within your limits and wear a decent helmet. That's just my 2 cents.

 

Disclaimer. I am not a doctor. Do not sue me for opinions aired here.

Edited March 28, 2011 by Omega Man

[Capricorn]

I must say Oh Mega Man, that worn in conjunction with the chest protection, the back-breaking issue could actually be resolved as the force exerted by the brace's back piece will be spread across the wearer's back thanks to the backplate on the chest protector.

 

No one else seems to think this subject is worthy of more cognitive crunching... I'm actually surprised.

[Guest Omega Man]

You are 100% right. if you wear a Leatt outside a back protector that will dissipate the force. They should just change their design and widen that back piece.

[patches]

I have also encountered a "know-it-all" salesperson at an MX shop trying to sell me a Leatt brace.

 

To date I still have no brace...

 

but here's what I do know.

 

As omegaman said, the back support going down the spine is an issue. And together with the listed pro riders who are now paraplegic even while wearing a brace, I have a good friend who had the same problem.

 

At one stage #2 in Open pro Enduro SA. So no "novice rider". In 2007 he had a bad accident about 200m from the start, when a rider clipped him, he went down and about 7 other riders went over him.

 

His back broke where the brace puts force on the spine. He was clinically declared paraplegic, but with many months of rehab and a small miracle he can walk again. Still has no feeling in his legs though. He says it's like constant pins and needles.

 

When I was chatting to him about getting a neck brace, he said if he could go back he probably wouldn't have worn one that day. He said the back collar acter as a lever, and even though he curled up in the fetal position to protect himself, that stuck out and got caught by the riders going over him, and levered and broke his spine.

 

He does recognize that he may be dead if he didn't wear it... but he says "I guess you'll never know?!"

[Guest Omega Man]

I have also encountered a "know-it-all" salesperson at an MX shop trying to sell me a Leatt brace.

 

Haha. Sure. The thing is people have been lead to believe that if you don't have a Leatt brace you WILL end up in a wheelchair or worse. That's just not true. The ACTUAL chance of catastrophic neck injury is tiny. Of course you don't want to be the dude who left his brace in the car and had a bad crash.

 

And then there are the EEEEEENLESS stories from people who swear that if they didn't have a brace on they would be DEAD!! UGH.

 

I reckon you start with the obvious. A good helmet. And go from there. I'm astounded at the races when I see kids with those crappy bell helmets and a leatt brace on. Surely you invest in a good lid first. Well that's my logic anyway.

 

Sorry to hear about your friend. If you spend a little time trawling the MX forums (Especially the US ones) you will be shocked at how many people are talking about that thing breaking people backs.

 

Disclaimer. I am not a Physician, Neurosurgeon, Orthopedic surgeon, Proctologist, Engineer, Palaeontologist or Sex worker so my opinion is not to be taken seriously. I am not an expert in any way shape or form. Please don't sue me.

Edited March 28, 2011 by Omega Man

[patches]

I reckon you start with the obvious. A good helmet. And go from there. I'm astounded at the races when I see kids with those crappy bell helmets and a leatt brace on. Surely you invest in a good lid first. Well that's my logic anyway.

 

amen!

 

I figured that much too! I have a 661 Evo. So whilst not a crappy lid, it's not up there with the best. So I'll probably take my neck brace money and invest in a nice THE (or if I'm feeling rich, a TLD D3) befor I get a brace.

[patches]

I heard the A-stars brace has the advantage that it splits down the centre so in certain crashes it's easier for the paramedics to remove. It still has a back support that pushes on the spine.

 

Cap, what was that German brand you posted up a while back? the one that makes the integrated jacket and all the little gadgety mods?

[Guest Omega Man]

.

Edited March 28, 2011 by Omega Man

[Guest Omega Man]

According to Leatt the A Stars one shatters on impact. Wouldn't take that too seriously tho cos according to Leatt the Omega is a Chinese knock off of the leatt. The funny thing is the Leatt is made in China and the Omega is made in Italy.

 

The back piece on the A-Stars brace is wider than on the Leatt but yes it still goes down the spine. The front piece goes lower down the chest supposedly reducing the chance of sternum injury. The major problem with the A-Stars brace in my opinion is the price. FAAAAARK it's expensive.

 

The Ortema is a similar design to the leatt except the pack piece is split and goes to the scapula's. Much like the Omega. It's 500 Euro's tho. Ouch.

 

The Moveo Brace. That's the one Cap showed. It looks like ass to me. The youtube video's showing sled tests and the crash test dummy sliding inevitably towards the barrier are just pathetic unrealistic scare mongering.

 

There are a few braces out at the moment.

 

Leatt

Alpinestars

Moveo

Ortema

Acerbis (I think this will be out soon but it's just a re-branded Leatt.

Omega.

[patches]

Yeah, the salesmen try to make one think that it's Leatt or nothing, but as you say, there are a few out there.

 

The Leatt

http://www.dnamotorcycles.co.za/catalog/images/leatt%20adventure.jpg

 

 

The Alpine Stars

http://www.btosports.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000007/AlpinestarsBionicNeckSuppor.jpg

 

The Moveo

http://www.elite-mx.co.uk/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/M/o/Moveo_Neck_Brace_Dynamic_-_Grey.jpg

 

The Ortema

http://www.mxshoponline.com/media/p/o/17d6be70_l_ortema-onb-neck-brace.jpg

 

The Omega

http://www.mcleodbiz.com.au/Images/item/master/7101848.jpg

 

oh, and The EVS (which is kinda a brace and a race collar mixed)

http://www.dirtbikebitz.com/images/products/protection/evs/evs_rc_evolution_neck_brace_red.jpg

 

I guess each has it's advantages and disadvantages.

[RiderX]

I reckon you start with the obvious. A good helmet. And go from there. I'm astounded at the races when I see kids with those crappy bell helmets and a leatt brace on. Surely you invest in a good lid first. Well that's my logic anyway.

 

So what exactly is wrong with Bell helmets? Or should we only avoid the crappy ones?

[Guest Omega Man]

So what exactly is wrong with Bell helmets? Or should we only avoid the crappy ones?

 

I'm speaking specifically about the bell bellistic. That thing is just horrible.

Edited March 28, 2011 by Omega Man

[patches]

So what exactly is wrong with Bell helmets? Or should we only avoid the crappy ones?

 

yeah... choosing a good helmet is like choosing a good watermelon! you gotta put your ear to it and tap on it to see if it's from a good bunch or not.

 

Sorry Cap... back to topic...

 

Vision!

 

I've heard of quite a few riders having visibility issues when wearing braces with body armour on.

 

If the back plate is placed on the outside of the spine protection then it may disipate the forck directed towards the spine... but it resticts the backwards movement of the head a little more. And in DH when one is generally aimed... well... down... this can restrict the riders ability to scan the terain ahead.

Edited March 28, 2011 by patches