After seeing Micks young bloke wearing a neck brace and then the recent discussion related to neckbraces on the site, the nerd in me got to thinking about how worthwhile these things are (despite papers by their manufacturers/designers). a couple of our doctors cast some doubts on the claims about these devices and one even suggested that they may in fact cause a higher risk of fracturing the odontoid peg (the part of the spine that is broken in hanging someone) due to the change in where the force is distributed. So was born an academic research project on the actual effects of using a neck brace.
Initial x rays demonstrating the range of movement in the neck when wearing a helmet only, compared to a helmet and neckbrace proved some interesting facts but raised a side issue which may override the whole concept. This is the amount of movement of the head within the confines of the actual helmet. We used an older helmet of mine for the x ray’s we did and it may have some stretch from being old , but my new helmet which could not possibly be a tighter fit also has the following issue which I need to know if it is a common finding or is isolated.
When wearing the helmet including the chin strap being tightened, my helmet can be forced both up towards the top of my head and down towards my sternum with about a 100mm range of movement. Some academic papers on hemet design suggest that this is in itself a design feature that reduces the risk of neck injury and a benefit of the full face helmet apart from the reduction in gravel rash to the chin.
Can members please indicate how much up and down movement their helemts have when worn as they normally wear them and once reasonable force is applied to push the chin guard up and down. Thanks Snowy
