Posts
6184
Joined
8/16/2006
Location
Grass Valley, CA
US
Edited Date/Time
1/27/2012 11:11am
Reed, says he believes the neck brace contributed or caused McFarlanes death. Many of us here have questioned the claims made by Leatt, but I believe this is the first time I've heard talk of the brain taking more trauma. Makes as much or more sense as the claims to the positive by Leatt.
The Shop
A neck brace reduces the degree of hyperflexion/hyperextension of the cervical spine. It does not prevent head injuries. The cause of death was a head injury, not a cord injury. Maybe we should all stop wearing helmets. Andrew had a helmet on, but still died of a head injury.
What exactly is there to test on seatbelts anyway? If you're wearing one and hit a tree at 40 mph, the impact may be enough to tear your aorta..... a seatbelt caused death? Seatbelts are simple, they restrain you in certain lower speed crashes improving your chances of surviving. Similarly, the Leatt is a simple device that anyone can see what it is designed to do. There are no claims that it will prevent all injuries in all circumstances involving the neck. Yet we need millions of dollars in testing to "prove" that they can be helpful? To me that is like needing testing to show that a chest protector is going to help lessen the impact of rock filled roost, or testing that goggles will prevent dirt from entering the eyes. Common sense dictates that it is an AID to protection, not a foolproof guarantee.
Pit Row
(followed by the usual level of intellect - Sherwood. So Leatts are not expensive enough for you yet? )
If a person's not bright enough to work it out for themself, their neck's probably not worth worrying about anyway.
Either way, probably not the best thing to bash a company in public... People are a little over litigious in the USA
It obviously prevents the head from rotating, which means the head will absorb more shock when it stops rotating;
It obviously transfers and multiplies force to the spine and sternum (multiplication through the leverage associated to a force applied to the head and the distance between the force vector to the head and the neck brace bearing on the spine or sternum);
On the plus side, it absolutely, clearly will protect the neck from a twisting breakage in an over-rotation event.
So wear it, don't wear it, it's up to you. Or pick one of the others, like the Omega, which is totally different design, probably isn't quite as effective in protecting the neck but is less likely to do damage to other parts of the body. I choose not to wear one, but I'm glad they're out there on the market. My son wears an Omega. They're both good efforts, and a worthy cause. And any estimate of the brace's effect on a particular crash is purely speculation, nobody ever knows for sure.
For me, what Chad Reed says about cornering, jumping or riding in general I tend to listen to. What Chad Reed says about physics, safety gear, sports medicine and research I tend to ignore...
My view is that these guys are guided by cash more than anything, which could shred some light over the fact that a majority seems to dig arai and shoei but these are still not the most common brand on the circuit?
I was on the fence about neck braces in general. The lack of independent studies is definitely cause for concern. I have compression fractured my C5 vertebrae before, maybe a brace would have prevented that, maybe it would have broke my sternum instead. Who knows? I bought a Leatt at the end of September from a friend who was getting out of racing. First ride (October 1st) with it yielded me a broken back through no fault of the brace.
I'm still on the fence....
Post a reply to: Wow a different perspective on Neck Braces