Posts
472
Joined
5/17/2007
Location
Upstate, NY, USA
Edited Date/Time
8/2/2012 11:26am
I was curious if any of you have worn a neck brace (of any brand) and have decided to take it off, and if so, why?
I'm personally losing confidence in how effective they really are, versus injuries they might actually cause. The reason I have had this feeling to due to a crash I suffered the end of May. A fairly violent swap sent me high-siding, back first, into the ground. Something I would say wouldn't be a neck-breaker. Yet, since then (now 2 months later) I've been having problems with muscle spasms and pain in my neck. I did get X-rays. Nothing wrong there. I've currently been started on muscle relaxers for when it gets really tight and painful. Next step is an MRI if It doesn't settle.
I believe this all might be a result of me slamming into the ground back first and pushing the back table, that sticks out, into the back of my neck when I slammed. I've had crashed like this without a braces years ago, and never dealt with these issues after the fact.
I'm personally losing confidence in how effective they really are, versus injuries they might actually cause. The reason I have had this feeling to due to a crash I suffered the end of May. A fairly violent swap sent me high-siding, back first, into the ground. Something I would say wouldn't be a neck-breaker. Yet, since then (now 2 months later) I've been having problems with muscle spasms and pain in my neck. I did get X-rays. Nothing wrong there. I've currently been started on muscle relaxers for when it gets really tight and painful. Next step is an MRI if It doesn't settle.
I believe this all might be a result of me slamming into the ground back first and pushing the back table, that sticks out, into the back of my neck when I slammed. I've had crashed like this without a braces years ago, and never dealt with these issues after the fact.
My preference is to have one on every time I get on a bike. I've forgotten to put it on during practice sessions and rolled everything until I could get back to the pits and get it.
My 2 cents.
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now you know everyone gonna be putting theirs on there dog after they read these posts.
Yes, there are good, average and bad chiros out there. For this sport a good one is worth gold. The brace is there to prevent a catastrophic injury. You may simply have some muscles that are jammed up still. A good chiro will sort it out ... without using drugs.
I hit my head pretty hard to break the shell of my helmet, and I have no doubt in my mind that without wearing the Leatt brace I could have seriously injured myself, damaging neck and back vertebrae after landing on my head with such an impact.
I have worn my neck brace ever since I have got it, and don't even feel it on me any more. On occasion I forget to put it on, I feel naked!
I understand that there are maybe instances that the neck brace could cause an injury (as you could argue with 1 or 2 other bits of safety gear, not just in motocross) but I am certain that it prevents A LOT more.
As far as the brace goes I'm thinking I might just try to ride without it and see how it feels. dehner47 makes a good point.
I have a feeling it would be tough without it since I've worn one since 2008, though. Plus there would always be the what-if if something bad did happen without it.
Pit Row
I think it's like anything. It's been a while since the last big injury at the pro level. People forget how much things like Ernie's crash shook them.
Now I still ride with all my protection on, but I'm going to try it again ...
I had an arai and it didnt restrict me at all, I had full movement. I changed to a troy lee and i can't look fully up or down. It restricts me a bit but I wear it. But I see why people dont wear them.
I went over the bars about 10 years ago and lawn darted...wearing an old skool neck roll. Although I broke T8 in that crash and cracked my helmet nearly in half, my neck wasn't even sore. Everytime I weigh the freedom of that feeling on the track against the memory of that crash....the Leatt wins.
As a minor point - my little dude in my profile pic absolutely hated the smallest Leatt, so now he wears an alpinestars and loves it. Says he doesnt even notice it's on. If you dont like the way the Leatt feels - have a look at the Astars.
About 2 months ago one of my best friends had a crash and crushed his C4, and also cracked his C3 and C5 vertebrae. He owned a Leatt, but had only ever worn it once because he said it restricted his head movement too much. He is lucky, and suffered no cord damage, so will pretty much make a full recovery.
This was a bit of a wake up call for me, and I decided I would start wearing my Leatt again and bought some Leatt brand armour to better fit with it. However, every time I have been riding since then, I have stopped and taken the brace off because it now feels so restricting, even with the front and back parts adjusted right down. I want to wear it, but just don't feel I can anymore.
I used to wear an EVS neck roll before the Leatt came out. While wearing it I had a big crash and landed on my head. I was knocked out for a good few minutes and my neck was sore for a week or so after. I had it x-rayed, but it was just a sprain. This really scared me, and for the first time ever I seriously considered giving up riding. I have no idea whether the neck roll helped or not, but either way I think I was lucky.
To a certain extent at least, I believe the Leatt brace is a placebo. It makes people feel safer while doing something that is still potentially very dangerous. Reading about James Marshall and Ernesto Fonseca's injuries is what prompted me to start considering neck protection. At the time, those injuries scared me so much I didn't want to carry on riding without it. Whether I was actually any better off with the brace on is very difficult to say for certain, but it definitely made me feel safer.
Haven't taken any serious diggers with it on but some crashes.
I personally would rather heal up from a broken collar bone than neck damage.
My .02
Justin
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