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Now If you don't want to wear one, fine. That's your choice for sure.
But to come on here and say it increases the risk of injury is absurd, and flies in face of logic. Yeah someone can and on occasion will, get hurt wearing one. Nobody says the are 100% effective.
Same goes with helmets. Unfortunately every so often riders die due to head injuries, even though they were wearing a helmet.
And I don't see anyone on here advocating we stop wearing them.
Btw, I don't get the comfort thing. When I'm riding I don't even notice it.
A neck brace that stops the head rotating , will not be of benefit because that energy has to go somewhere, and it seems to go into the vertebra at the base of the brace, or it has the effect of trying to lever that load against whatever it can.
The only way you can know is to ban them for a year .. and then do the research. Thats not going to happen.
And as for the modern bikes giving you more chance to hurt yourself.. i dont buy that at all , tracks were rougher and the bikes were worse, places never got graded from year to the next, and 10 times the riders.. folk used to crash and crash hard , but they got up , most of the time
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Bottom line is, too much extension is a bad thing either way and the neck brace limits that. You're right the energy has to go somewhere. So I'll take it where the brace transfers it.
Btw, many permanent spinal injuries come from lawn darting into the ground and compressing the spine. That's another way the neck brace helps. It transfers energy to the shoulders. For me, if it means a broken collarbone, I'll take that over getting paralyzed.
But that said, we all know they aren't 100% effective. Nothing is.
I've been wearing one since the first Leatt came out and will continue to wear one.
And even though my kids are all grown, if I had a young kid racing today they wouldn't get on the bike without one.
For me, it's just another way to reduce risks of riding and racing mx.
Going on 6 years.
I use their Enduro Jackets and Hydro-Gear, too.
I was under the impression that compression injury is the most common and damaging injury to the spine. A neck brace will not protect against this sort of impact. Looking at the design of the product, it appears to be able to handle hyper-extension prevention quite well.
In the end, it really is a choice that boils down to what makes the rider more comfortable. I am one of the few guys at the track that wears a kidney belt and a chest protector. They may or may not serve any useful purpose but I feel funny riding without them. As for neck devices and knee braces, I don't wear either one by choice. My decision is based on conversations with medical professionals, articles I have read, and by evaluating the products myself. While there may be certain types of crashes and impacts that these devices do exactly what they are intended to do, there are limits. In my opinion, these devices have a narrow range of protective capability. I also feel that they can introduce injury that can be equal to or worse than the one they were designed to protect against. I think I would rather have my joints and ligaments flex than concentrate the forces of the impact to another location. While you may or may not agree, this is my decision and I am completely comfortable with it. Your mileage may vary. Bret
Doc Bodnar seems to believe in them, but if you don't then don't wear one.
http://www.racerxvt.com/article/dr.-bodnar-examines-trey-canards-leatt-…
http://www.racerxvt.com/virtual_trainer/TFS_Doc_Bodnar.html
http://www.btosports.com/moto-news/motocross-gear/the-neck-brace-and-wh…
http://www.dirtrider.com/features/the-neck-brace-web-component/
It personal choice though , i let my 19 year old son make his own call, he doesnt wear one either.
That's exactly why I don't wear a neck brace. I don't think it's comfortable. If I had been wearing one since I started like kids these days, then I probably wouldn't mind it. That's the reason I feel more comfortable with my knee braces, helmet, and boots on than I do without. It's because I've always ridden with that stuff since I was 5 years old.
I wore a Leatt for 2 years until I broke the back piece off of it (and it broke my collarbone). Then I tried the A-stars one for a little, but eventually just stopped wearing it.
I've tried on the Atlas braces and they feel really nice. If I was going to wear a neck brace again, I'd get one of those. But my dad won't buy it because he doesn't think I'll wear it very long.
Also, whether it is in my head or not, I can corner better without a neck brace on, and cornering is everything.
Pit Row
I just wanted to share a story from out at the track today. A friend of mine crashed off the side of the track on a downhill jump, I did not see the crash so I don't know exactly what happened. From the people who were there right after the crash, apparently he likely hit his head, and it appeared he also broke his collar bone. These injuries are NOT confirmed, I am just going by what I and others observed. The point of this is, he was wearing a neck brace and was able to get up and walk away for the crash. If he did indeed hit his head, it is possible that the brace saved him from neck injury and left him with a broken collar bone. Not sure about everyone, but I would choose that any day over a spinal cord injury. It's your choice, make the decision that's right for you, but I will definitely continue to wear mine. Just wanted to share this, and hopefully everyone has a safe day of riding.
It seems your basically saying all of us who believe they work and have examples of where they did, are full of shit.
Leatt has the research but it's not credible. A doctor told a rider his opinion was it saved him from further injury but what does he know.
Many on here, including myself have had bad wrecks where we were glad we had one on but we can't prove it helped.
Blah, blah, blah.
Some of you will never be convinced, and that's ok. But you can't prove a negative.
The research is out there saying they help. Any saying they don't work?
And btw, they do offer a certain amount of protection from compression. It will only let your neck compress to the point where your helmet hits the brace. Then it's transmitted to the collarbone/shoulder area.
http://www.vitalmx.com/videos/features/A-Message-From-David-Bailey,196/…
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