Let’s take a look at an effective piece of safety gear you may or may not be aware of - neck braces. If you’re not familiar with this safety item, it’s probably because they’ve only been around since the turn of the millennium. Designed for motorcyclists (particularly off-roaders who suffer the same kind of spills as powersports riders), these braces prevent the head and neck from extending past their normal range of movement during an accident. Such trauma frequently causes spinal damage that results in paralysis, death, or traumatic brain injuries with lingering pain, memory problems, balance issues, and more.
You may be asking yourself, “Yes, okay, neck braces are great for motorcycle use. But do I really need one on an ATV, snowmobile, or jet ski?” Our answer to this question is, “Is it even remotely possible you could take a head-over-heels tumble off your ATV, snowmobile, or jet ski?”
If you take your truthful “yes” answer a step further and really think, it’s hard to dismiss how much easier it is for any rider, of any skill level, to fall off one of these vehicles vs. a motorcycle. We won’t get into the many ways accidents can happen – because if you’ve ever bounced over dirt trails, snow, or water on a powersports buggy, you already know.
How Neck Braces Are Effective
As we mentioned earlier, neck braces do the job of protecting your neck by ensuring your head cannot be pushed past its normal range of movement in any direction. Should that occur, it’s easy for any of the seven cervical neck bones at the top of the spinal column to become fractured or crushed – leading to spinal nerve damage, paralysis, or death.
Neck braces also take any direct impact energy and deflect it away from the collar bone and sternum (these bones protect the lungs, major blood vessels, and heart) onto sturdier areas such as the shoulders and chest. But let’s look at some quick statistics, starting with ATVs.
ATVs
A U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission study analyzed over 13,000 ATV-related injuries from 1982-2014. Of these, the largest single percentage of injuries (28%) were to the head and neck area – mainly because ATVs are highly unstable and prone to flipping over. When they do, the rider is often pinned between 500 pounds of machinery and unyielding, hard ground.
Children are especially susceptible to ATV injuries if they lack the strength and fully developed motor skills to control the vehicle properly. In fact, recent National Safe Kids Campaign findings showed a disproportionate number of riders below age 14 are typically treated for head, facial, and various other bone injuries. We feel it’s important to note that children between age 10 and 14 accounted for 3 out of 4 fatalities in their report.
Snowmobiles
A study of snowmobile-related injuries over a recent 8-year period compiled by University of Rochester Medical Center showed they resulted from: being thrown off/flipped over (33%), striking a stationary object (27%), being injured by the snowmobile itself (9%), crashing into another snowmobile (6%), hitting a car, train, or truck (5.%), or other reason (20%).
As far as the injuries themselves go, spinal fractures occurred in 1 out of 5 victims. Of those spinal fractures, injuries to the thoracic spine were the most common (50%), followed by the cervical spine (41%) and lumbar (36%) spine. For reference, separate head injuries affected 1 out of 3 victims – but many of those injured weren’t wearing helmets.
Jet Skis
Because jet skis can reach up to 60 miles per hour (and more in some cases), surprise accidents commonly occur with injuries to the neck, spine, and head areas. Landing on water at those speeds can deliver sudden blunt force that’s the same as hitting pavement. Plus, many riders slip and fall onto the jet ski when waves get choppy – hitting their head and neck area against the fuselage, handlebars, or foot tray. Collisions with other riders or boats are also a frequent cause of neck and spinal injuries.
Neck Brace Features
Because we’ve spent many weekends on motorcycles and powersports equipment ourselves, we know a neck brace that’s uncomfortable or gets in the way of normal head movement makes riding more tiresome and difficult – compromising your safety ultimately.
Many powersports users ask us about this – saying they’ve heard neck braces are heavy, uncomfortable, and restrictive. We tell them, as we’ll tell you, that when it comes to today’s braces, those negative arguments simply don’t apply anymore.
Neck braces we offer are extremely lightweight at around one pound or less. And we know from using them ourselves that relatively low-profile designs make it easy to forget you’re wearing one at all. Neck braces can also offer helpful support that relieves the strain of holding your head up when the wind pushes your helmet back.
To this end, you’ll find fold-down flaps at the front and rear of the brace which ensure it sits properly on your body to allow normal head movement without rubbing. These flaps can be locked into pre-set positions, or they may use a rotating shaft for adjustment.
Braces typically feature a quick release button which uncouples the front latch so that left and right halves can be moved apart. Not only does this feature make it easy to put the brace on or take it off, it boosts safety if you need to escape from the brace fast.
Because we know it’s fun for the whole family to start youngsters riding at an early age, we also offer youth-sized neck braces designed specifically for the anatomy of young children. Additionally, they provide room to grow with “axle” shafts in the back that make it possible to increase the width of the brace as needed.
Some neck braces feature an outer liner that’s designed to be removed and washed. Others may also include special tabs which let you attach the neck brace to any chest protector you may also be wearing.
Sizing
A neck brace can’t do its job of properly protecting the wearer if it doesn’t fit well to begin with. For this reason, we’ve made every effort to include manufacturer-supplied reference guides that recommend a brace size based on chest circumference measurement. To access the information, look for a “Size Chart” tab that will be visible once you enter the Product Options selection area.
Neck Braces We Offer
Beginning with a great value, the Polisport Black Neck Protector (available in adult and youth sizes) features an ergonomically comfortable shape, but does not include support brace pieces. Other great values include the EVS Sports R2 Adult Race Collar and R3 Adult Race Collar (both for adults) that come with a removable nylon outer shell for easy cleaning. The R2 does not include support braces, but the R3 does.
For racers and others who prefer a neck brace with an upper section that’s firmer to the touch, the EVS Sports R4 Adult Race Collar is recommended for adults and children.
For junior riders, we’ve got several choices. Accommodating the youngest and smallest children are the Alpinestars Sequence Neck Support and Atlas Brace Broll 2018 Brace. Youngsters a little bit bigger and older are a good fit for the Atlas Brace Tyke 2018 Brace with width adjustability they can grow into. For adolescent children, there’s the Atlas Brace Air 2018 Brace and Prodigy 2018 Brace.
Today’s neck braces have come a long way since the earliest ones debuted decades ago – making them so comfortable to wear that it’s easy to forget you’ve got one on. So if you’re going out on an ATV, snowmobile, or jet ski, you really have no reason not to protect yourself with a neck brace.
You may also want to consider other forms of safety-oriented riding gear in the form of armored jackets (with and without built-in inflatable airbag systems), armored pants, elbow/wrist protection, knee/ankle braces, kidney belts, reinforced boots, and much more! We encourage you to call our knowledgeable specialists with any questions regarding products in this or other sections – we’re open seven days a week!