Neck Braces - the debate

Your neck is a rather vital piece of your anatomy. Connecting your head to your body; it makes sense to protect it!!Recently there have been a lot of heatbreaking and saddening stories come to light about the seemingly increasing amount of people getting killed or permenantly injured whilst doing what they love.

Pinkbike it, Google it, Youtube it , whatever it - there are countless stories and video interviews of great guys who have died....or worse....become paraplegics : motionless shells of what they one were.
A conscience trapped inside a body they cannot move or escape from. Sounds almost like a Steven King movie.

Unfortunately though, this isn't fiction and the risks are real. Not the sort of thing you want to be thinking about really, is it!?

Vs


Actually whilst wondering about the whole thing, it's made me wonder why there aren't countless more rules and regulations we must follow in order to keep the health & safety side of things happy. Event Organisors would be quite within their rights to make us wear all the body armour known to man and turn up on race day looking like the michelin man.


Nobody likes to be dictated to though about what me have to wear and do. A strapped up helmet and some bar ends - eveyones happy!

To the majority of us though. Especially those of us with childen who do the sport -it would make a lot of sense to get your neck a little more out of harms reach. We all protect our heads because- it's where our brains hang out! I've been considering saving up for a neck brace and I'm pretty certain a lot more people are too.

To help explain the importance of your neck - I have devised a cunning explanation!

Think of your head like a Post Office - your body a house and your neck a paperboy.
Now then, all the letters (the signals from your brain that control what your doing) need to get to the house (your body) from the Post Office (your brain) If the paperboy (your neck) isn't there, or decides to take the day off - then your screwed! You wont get a paper and you wont be able to check your winning lotto numbers. Game over basically.

In the search for neck protection, there are to name but a few companies such as Leatt, Fro Systems, Dixon and BMW. All of them follow the same principle - reduce and limit the extent to which your head can move therefore reducing, even totally stopping neck, vertebrae and spinal chord damage.


Prices range from as little as £30 for a foam neck brace, right upto £300 for a Leatt maximum protection system.

It is however in my opinion an arguable topic as to how much better an expensive high end brace is over a cheap and cheerful foam one. Both have been vigerously developed and tested and therefore will likely be as good as each other in the event of a crash.

And then theres the arguments over how apparently Leatt braces and such like are useless for downhill because they restrict movement too much.


hahahah who makes this stuff up!?

Knowing myself a few people who ride with Fro systems and Leatt braces, and they actually do say theres a little bit of head movement restriction. However like they said, you get used to it after a few rides. And the initial feelings of being in a straightjacket are put to bed as soon as you get riding and loosen up. As with everything though, there will be a group of people who won't ever consider any type neck brace. Probably the same guys that never wear helmets.


Now on a happy note to finish : as with everything, give the Leatt brace 12 months and you can guarentee that prices will have halved. Kerching! Blinged out neck braces at half price - now I'm happy


Thanks for reading everyone! And keep your necks safe, please.